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PERKINS  LIBRARY 

Duke   University 


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Rec'd. 


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(|^^         NOTES     i^^"-^^ 


'ON   THE 

PARABLES 


OF  THE 


NEW  TESTAMENT. 


BY  HOSEA  BALLOU, 

Pastor  •£  the  Universalist  Church  and  Society  in  Portsmouth,  N.  M. 

Author  of  "  Treatiie  oh  Atonement,'^  «  Candid  Rev'itv)"  \lfc.  ^ifc. 

SECOND  EDITION, 


SCRIPTURALLY  ILLUSTRATED, 

ARGUMENT ATIVELY  DEFENDED. 

BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


"  I  xvill  open  my  mouth  in  Farahlet.     J  tuill  utter  thingt  -which  have  been 
keft  secret  from  the  foundation  of  the  lUorW*  ST.  MATTHEW. 

"  But  ivithout  a  ParaVe  spake  he  not  unto  them.**  ST,  MARK. 

"  To  understand  a  proverb  and  the  interpretation  ;  the  tuords  of  the  wist,  and 
their  dark  sayings."  SOLOMON. 


PORTSMOUTH,  27.  H. 
PRINTED  AT  THE  GAZETTE  OFFICE. 

AND    FOR    SALE,   WHOLESALE    AND    RETAIL,    AT 

C.  PElRCE's  BOOKSTORE,  Daniel  ftrcet. 
1812. 


Neiu-HanipJJyire  D'l/lricl^  to  wit  i 

n^^''"^'^  Xy^  -^  reincinbered,tl)3J  on  this  eleventh  cl;<y  of  Marcfe, 
^  >  i3    in  tb.t  tuirty  fitt!!  ycir    of    ihe    Indtpendence  of 

V.  jtl=c  Uuited  States  of  America.  'J  he  Rev,  Hosea  Ballou, 

I-  >^  of  Poftfmr.uth,   in  faid  Diflri(5l,  hath  dfipofited   in  this 

'  ^— ^  Oilice,  the  title  of  &  Book  whereof  he  clrfim*  as  author 
in  f5't  words  fij'Iowin^ — to  wit  : 

''I>otcs  on  the  Parables  of  t!ie  New  Tcftamcnt,  by  Hofea  Ballou, 
«' PAi'tor  o'  tie  Univerfsiifl:  Crtirch  ?nd  S^icicty  in  Pcrtfmouth, 
*'  N.  H-  Stcond  cdit::n  Scripiurally  Iliufirated,  and  Argumtnta- 
"tiveij  DcfcBded,  by  the  Author. 

«'  !  will  open  my  mouth  in  parables,  T  wilJ  otter  things  which 
«*!:ave  btcn  kepi  lecret  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.'', 

St.  Matthew.'*  . 

"  5ut  v-i'J-iOut  a  parable  fp^ke  he  not  unto  them."     St.  Mark." 

•«  To  itf.deiftand  a  prorerb  and  the  interpretation;  the  words 
*'cf  LiiE  wife  aad  thei."  d.irk  fayings."  Solomsn  *' 

IN  conformity  to  the  Aa  of  the  Congrefs  of  the  United  States. en- 
(i.led  "  An  2'5  for  the  cticouia^cmeiit  of  learning,  by  fcruring  cr^p- 
ic&  of  MapJ,  Cha-ts,  and  otiicr  Bock-s,  to  the  authors  and  proprie- 
Ivrs  therein  mentioned  ;  and  aifo  ^n  adl  fu[^p'cmcntary  to  an  a(Sl 
for  ths  cnouragcmcnt  of  leurniDg  by  fcruring  copies  of  Maps, 
Char;s,  and  other  Bj'ok:,  to  tiic  authors  and  proprietors  therein 
jr.en'.iorcdp  and  cxtendiRg  the  bene^t  thereof  to  the  arts  of  def'gn- 
\-\-?  cnaravingand  etfhiug  hiftorical  and  other  prints," 

R.  CU  TTS  SHANNON,  CUrk  of /aid  Dljiria. 

A   triUe  C»'"'   o!^  Record,  Atteft 

R    CUTTS  SHANNON,  CM. 


'     University  IA*«^  /^^/^ 

"^         PREFACE  ^^*3;2,.^9 

TO  THE  SECOND  EMTION.  Xf  \    \   - 

URGZD  by  the  Um't  motives  which  invited  the  author 
to  write  and  publifii  thtfe  Ncics  on  the  Parablet^  und  having 
witn^/Ted  the  liberality  with  which  his  labors  have,  in  this, 
as  well  as  other  inftances,  been  patronized  by  a  generous 
public,  together  with  the  ardent  rcqaefts  of  many  of  his 
religious  friends,  he  feels  hlmfclf  obligated  to  publifti  a 
fecond  edition  of  the  work,  enlarged  witU  fcriptural  illuftri- 
lions  and  an  argumentative  defence. 

Notwithftan^iag  the  great  difference  between  ihefc  Notes 
and  the  comnson  opinions  cf  divines,  and  notwithftanding 
nearly  feven  years  have  pafTed  ^v^c^  they  were  publifnsd, 
giving  ^e  author  opportunity  to  re-examine  aad  further 
compare  the  work  with  the  icriptures  at  larcje,  no  material 
alteration  is  conceived  to  be  nccsflary. 

The  illuftration  and  defence  now  added  to  the  original 
work,  in  the  humble  oplDicn  of  many  ferious  lovers  of  the 
truth,  will  not  only  refleft  further  light  on  the  parables,  but 
will,  in  fome  meafure,  affiil  thefe  whofe  minds  are  darkened 
by  the  common  notions  and  traditional  opinrons  on  the 
parables,  to  fee  that  fuch  opinions  are  entirely  difTcrent  from 
the  true  intent  of  thofe  fcriptures. 

As  it  is  evident  that  many  doubts  refpst^ing  the  Savioui's 
gracs,  and  many  fears  of  endlefs  vengeance  have  been  predi- 
cated on  a  falfe  explanation  of  fo  valuable  a  part  of  the  New- 
Teftament,  as  the  parables  which  were  fpoken  by  Chriftv  the 
author  conceives  that  whatever  may  tend  to  remove  thofe 
doubts,  and  to  diffipate  thofe  fears,  muft  be  well  pleafing  to 
his  divine  Mafter,  as  well  as  beneficial  to  the  heirs  of  falvaticn. 

With  a  full  psrfuafion  of  mind  that  the  Lord  will  blels 
thefe  inconfiderable  labors  to  the  promotion  of  the  knowledge 
of  his  grace  among  his  ranfomed  children,  the  work  is  dedi- 
cated to  that  caufe,  and  to  the  patronage  c£  the  lovers  of 
truth,  by  the 

302727  AUTHOR. 


AN 

EPISTLE  TO  THE  READER. 


ChRIS'TIAN  READERy 

TO  mention  all  the  motives  which  induced 
mc  to  publiCh  the  following  Notes,  would  extend  tliis  epii^le 
beyond  its  proper  limits ;  yet,  it  may  be  falisfaclory  to  liccc 
foaie  of  the  moft  important. 

It  has  appeared  to  me  for  fome  time,  that  fomething  of 
this  nature  was  as  much  needed,  among  chrlftian  pcopb,  as 
any  thing  that  could  be  offered  from  the  icriptures  ;  and  that 
on  account  of  the  very  different  manner  in  which  public 
teachers  have  treated  the  Pirables  of  the  new  teftameiit,  and 
the  difagrecable  conftquences  arifing  therefrom. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  faid,  without  encroaching  on  the  feel- 
ings of  the  reader,  that  moft  of  the  ideas  imbibed  by  people, 
in  general,  in  divinity,-  are  received  from  the  pulpit.  And 
while  one  congregation  is  attending  to  explanai'ons  cf  the 
Parabks  in  one  way,  another  is  entertained  with  different 
ideas  on  the  fame  paflages.  When  thofs  ideas  are  received, 
they  form  quite  i  diiT^rence  in  the  opinions  of  chriflians  ; 
this  diffimilarity  of  fentiraent  engenders  twice  as  rr.uch  dif- 
affc(5lion  in  the  heart,  where  nothing  contrary  to  charity 
ought  to  be  found  ;  this  diiaffe(5tion  is  like  a  hot  bed  to  ili« 
feeds  of  contention,  and  roots  of  bitteinefs. 

And  although  I  do  not  expeft  fo  favorable  a  confcquence 
to  refult  from  my  little  Pair^phlet,  as  a  general  agreement  a- 
mong  chriilians,  in  rsipetfl  to  the  Parables  ;  yet,  I  enrertaia 
an  humble  hoj>e,  that  it  ir.ay  make,  at  Jeaft,  an  appri/xifDa- 
tion  towards  fo  favoriible  an  obj»<fl  ;  perhaps  by  inducln^^ 
fome  more  able  writer,  who  pofTcilcs  more  leifure  for  writ- 
ing,  to  favor  the  public  with  a  treatife  on  fo  worthy  a  fubjs^. 

^'     302727 


vi  AN  EPISTLE 

In  my  travels  thiough  ihe  country  in  difcharge  of  duties 
enjoined  by  the  miniftry  of  the  Saviour  of  finners,  I  havemeC 
with  more  oppofiiion  to  the  gofpel  preached  to  Abraham, 
from  falfe  notions  of  the  Parables  of  the  new  teftament,  than 
from  any  other  quarter.  Often,  after  travelling  many  miles 
and  preaching  feveral  fermons  in  a  day,  I  have  found  it  ne- 
cefTary  to  explain  feveral  Parables  to  fome  inquiring  hearer, 
when  my  ftrengih  feemed  almoft  exhaufted.  At  fuch  times, 
I  have  thought  a  volume,  fuch  as  the  reader  has  in  his 
hand,  might  fave  me  -much  labor.  And  I  hare  often  faid  to 
myfelf,  if  God  will  give  me  a  few  weeks Icifare,  I  V^ill  (with 
his  affiftance)  employ  them  in  writing  Notes  on  the  Parables. 
This  favor  has  at  laft  been  granted,  though  it  was  by  depriv- 
ing  me  of  that  degree  of  health  which  was  neceilary  to  the 
peiformaRce  of  thofe  joarnies  which  I  had  already  appoint- 
ed ;  yet,  prefcrving  (o  much  as  to  reader  me  coropofed  ia 
oy  ftudy. 

^  I  am  pcrAiaded  that  a  juft  knowledge  or  the  ParaLles  is 

almoft  indifpenfably  BCceHary  to  a  knowledge  of  the  dojJlrine 
preached  by  Chrift,  as  much  of  his  public  communication 
was  in  this  way.  It  is  in  the  Parables  of  Chrift  that  we  learn 
the  nature  of  the  two  difpenfations,  or  covenants  ;  the  fitu- 

jfSfe  ation  of  man  by  reafon  of  fin  ;  the  chfera<51er  of  the  Saviour, 
as  the  feeker  and  faviour  of  that  which  was  loft  ;  the  power  of 
the  gcfpel,  as  a  fovereign  remedy  for  the  moral  maladies  of 
maE,  and  its  divinp  efiicicy  in  reconciling  and  afllmilating 
the  fmner  with  Gcd.  It  is  by  the  Parables  that  we  learn  the 
unprofitabiencfs  of  legal  righteoufnefs  in  point  of  juftlficatipn 
to  eternal  life  ;  the  abfolute  neceffity  of  becoming  new  crea- 
tures, in  order  to  enter  the  kingdom  cf  God  ;  the  true  char- 
a^er  of  the  Saviour,  as  the  Lord  our  righteoufnefs,  and  his 
divine  power  to  make  all  things  new. 

And  I  may  add  to  the  above  confiderations  many  friendly 
rcquefts  from  refpe<5lable  brethren  ia  the  miniLlry,  and  many 
of  my  hearers  who  havo  made  thcmfelves  partially  acquaint- 
ed with  my  mannex  of  cxplaioing  ihc  parable*. 


TO  THE  READER.  vii 

Some  will  undoubtedly  afk  why  the  author  was  not  more 
particular  in  quoting  fcripture  evidence  for  the  kffillance  of 
the  reader.  To  which  I  anfwer  ;  my  main  dcCgn  was  to 
have  my  explanations  or  notes  ilerive  evidence  from  the  fub- 
jeft  of  difcourfe,  or  particular  circum (lance  which  fecmed  to 
introduce  or  occafion  the  parable.  I  will  inftance  two  par- 
ticulars for  examples.  The  three  parables  in  the  15th  of 
St.Luke  were  evidently  introduced  as  an  anfwer  to  the  Phari- 
fees  and  Scribes  who  objc*!ted  to  Chrift  for  receiving  finners, 
which  objf<flion  was  the  evident  occafion  of  the  three  para- 
bles;  and  according  to  that  circumftancc,  the  leader  will 
difcover  the  propriety  of  my  Notej. 

Again,  the  parable  of  the  Tares,  in  the  13th  of  St,  Mat- 
thew, continues  the  thread  of  difrourfe  from  the  explanation 
of  the  parable  of  the  Sower  ;  and  by  connc«5ling  ihcfc  para- 
bles as  they  ought  to  be,  the  reader,  will ^^ the  evidence  : 
for  the  propriety  of  what  I  have  written^^ikat  parable. 
Again,  many  quotations  would  of  neceility  have  enlarged  . 
the  work,  which  would  have  occafioned  an  additional  cz-^ 
penfe  to  the  reader. 

Again,  I  do  by  no  means  wifb  to  have  the  bible  read  the 
Uk^  but  the  more,  in  confequence  of  my  Notes  ■:  1  wifh  f^^ 
the  reader  to  fearch  the  fciiplures,  to  f?e  if  ihefe  things  ^^^ 
f» ;  and  fatisfy  himfelf,  by  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
inoft  valuable  of  all  books.  1  have,  however,  on  thofe  par- 
ticular Parables  where  1  faw  the  greateft  danger  of  error,  in*, 
troduced  (as  l  think)  fufHcient  evidence  by  quotations.  The 
method  which  I  have  purfued  in  mod  of  the  Parables 
would,  I  acknowledge,  be  a  very  bad  method  in  fermon- 
izing,  as  the  hearers  in  that  cafe  would  be  loft  in  the  multi- 
tude  of  particulars  ;  yet,  in  reading,  I  fuppofed  it  an  advan- 
tage to  have  the  fubjefts  particularly  divided.  The  reafon 
why  I  have  omitted  all  the  Parables  in  St.  Mark  and  St. 
John,  is  becaufe  of  their  fimilarity  with  thofe  on  which  I 
have  written,  or  becaufe  I  faw  no  likdihocds  of  their  being 


vm  AN  EPISTLE,  is^c 

fiiifunderftood  ;  and  the  fame  reafon  I  would  give  tor  omit- 
ling  foms  in  St.  Matthew  and  in  St.  Luke. 

I  muil  tell  you  further,  chriftian  reader,  that  I  am  not 
without  fome  fears  rcfpefling  your  getting  a  jiift  underftand- 
ing  of  I  he  fubjtd  before  yfiu.  Should  ycu,  when  you  have 
read  it  through,  fay  it  is  not  ahogether  accorciiTyg  to  the  ideas 
which  I  have  hereiofor-c  entertained,  and  difmifs  the  work 
without  further  notice,  I  am  fure  you  are  likely  to  underftand 
but  little  of  the  matter.  It  will  be  nece/Tary  to  read  it  a 
number  of  times  with  attention,  to  fearch  the  fcriptures  in 
connexion  with  the  Parables,  and  to  take  great  care  that  you 
do  not  admit  prepoiTened  ideas  as  evidence  againft  what  yoa 
lead. 


Again,  fhoul^rou  hurry  throvrgh  the  work,  and  fay  it  is 
a  good  thingi^^^vknowledge  the  ideas  to  be  jud,  without 
an  exception,  a^^ay  n-o  more  Rudy  to  the  work,  you  are 
equally,  as  in  the  other  cafe,  liable  to  know  but  little  of  what 
you  read.  Suffer  me,  therefore,  earneftiy  to  intreat,  that 
you  neither  juftify  or  condemn  thefe  Notes,  until  you  can  da 
ii  with  a  good  underftanding,  and  £iom  the  authority  of  the 
^||uptures» 

^^And  may  the  fpirit  cf  him,  in  whom  dwells  the  fulnefs 
of  wifdom  and  knowledge,  dirc<ft  you  ia  thefe  ferious  and 
folemn  inquiries  ;  make  you,  all  v/ife  in  his  wifdom,  holy  m 
his  holinefs,  righteous  in  his  rightecufnefs,  and  perfect  in  hh 
peifeftion,  is  the  fervent  defirc  and  joyful  hope  of  a  fervant 
of  all  men. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


NOTES 


ON    THE 


PARABLES 

OF    THE 

NEW  TESTAMENT,  &c. 
PARABLE  I; 


i*  And  cow  alfo  the  axe  is  laid  unto  the  root  o^^Btrees :  ther^ 
fore  every  tree  which  bringeth  not  forth  goW^fruit  is  hcwa 
cown,  and  caft  into  the  fire."  Mat.  iii.  lo. 


THE  forerunner  of  Jefus  was  here  giving  that 
Inftruclion  to  the  people  which  was  neceffary  for 
them  to  receive,  in  order  that  they  might  be  pre^ 
pared  to  receive  the  more  mighty  than  himfel^^ 
He  fliewed  them  the  futihty  of  depending  on  thei^^ 
being  defcendants  from  Abraham  as  to  their  being  , 
accepted  in  that  difpenfation  which  was  immedi- 
ately to  be  introduced. 

Although  that  circumftance  was  of  confequence  .- 
to  them  in  rcfped  to  that  ihadowy  difpenfation 
which  was  waxing  old  and  ready  to  vanifti  away, 
it  could  not  ferve  them  as  an  induction  into  that 
by  which  all  things  were  to  be  made  new  ;  by 
which  the  fhadows  of  the  law  were  to  flee  away, 
and  Jew.  and  Gentile,  as  of  twain,  made  one  new 
man. 


TO  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

Fruits  meet  for  repentance  are,  therefore,  re- 
quired ;  for  as  they  flood  in  their  law  character, 
they  were  a  generation  of  vipers,  as  is  every  child 
of  Adam  in  the  earthly  charader.  And  as  thofe 
Pharifees  v/ere  ever  deiiious  of  performing  fome- 
thing  whereby  God  might  accept  them  and  de- 
light in  them,  it  was  proper  for  them  to  be  in- 
formed, that  good  works  or  fruits  alone  would  re- 
ceive approbation,  of  which  they,  in  the  character 
of  vipers,  were  deftitute. 

"  And  now  alfo  the  axe  is  laid  unto  the  root  of 
the  trees."  Note  the  axe  is  an  inftrument  by 
which  the  tree  is  fevered  from  its  roots,  which,  in 
the  Parable,  iignifies  the  executive  power  of  the 
law  ;  the  trees  every  individual  of  mankind  ;  the 
root^^  (not  mots)  that  one  Adamic  nature  from 
which  we^^Lrang.  "  Therefore  every  tree  which* 
bringeth  n^Rirth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and 
call  into  the  fire/'  Has  any  one,  in  or  by  the 
carnal  mind,  brought  forth  good  fruit  ?  Is  there 
any  fpiritual  life  in  Adam  the  firfl  nature  ?  It  was 
faid  to  him,  "  In  the  day  thou  eateil  thereof,  thou 
flialt  furely  die/'     If  we  fprang  from  a  fpiritually 

ad  root,  can  we  polTefs  any  fpiritual  life  derived 
om  that  root  ?  If  we  have  no  fpiritual  life,  can 
we  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  righteoufnefs  ?  If 
not,  the  axe  mufl  do  its  ofHce  ;  the  trees  mufl  be 
hewn  down,  that  is,  fevered  from  the  old  root^ 
cut  off  from  the  Adamic  nature  ;  for  in  that  na- 
ture we  can  never  partake  of  the  tree  of  life,  for 
behold  God  placed  cherubims  and  a  flaming  fword 
in  tlie  eaji^  the  place  of  lights  that  we,  in  that  na- 
ture, cannot  approach  the  tree  of  life.  It  is,  there- 
fore, file  wed  unto  us,  in  the  priefthood  of  the  law, 
that  neither  the  High  Priefts  themfelves,  nor  the 
people  in  their  reprefentatives,  could  enter  the  ho- 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  ii 

"ly  place  until  they  were  ilain  in  the  outer  court, 
which  was  done  by  proxy,  in  thole  lacrifices  which 
were  offered  for  the  priefts  and  the  people.  The 
treeSj  v/hen  hfwn  down,  jiiuft  be  call  into  the  fire  ; 
that  being  confun^.ed,  in  reioecl  to  the  carnal  or 
old  man,  there  might  no  p;irt  of  that  lite  appear 
W'hich  was  derived  from  Adam  the  firft. 

Further,  fee  the  nature  of  this  fire,  as  defcribcd 
by  Malachi  iii.  2,  3,  where  Chrift  is  repreiented  by 
a  refiner's  fire,  and  by  a  fuller's  foap  ;  whereby  the 
fons  of  Levi  were  to  be  purified,  that  their  offer- 
ing might  be  in  righteoufnefs.  And  that  we  are 
right  in  rcfpecl  to  this  fire,  is  m.ade  fufhciently  evi- 
dent by  the  words  of  John,  in  that  he  faith,  f peak- 
ing of  Chrifl,  "  He  fhall  baptize  you  with  the  Ho- 
ly Ghofl  and  with  fire,"  fpeaking  to  t^Pharifees, 
whom  he  called  a  generation  of  viperw^'^<^  here- 
in he  noted  the  difference  between  his  own  baptifm 
and  that  v/hich  CbrlTl;  would  adminiiler.  John 
does  not  fay  that  Cliriil  would  baptize  tliem  with 
the  Holy  Ghofi  and  fire^  if  they  would  zuUU?igIy  con- 
fentXo  his  inimflry  ;  but  afflrled^  faying,  "  he  /bnll 
baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghofl  and  v>dt]i  fire."  ^ 
We  then  obferve,  that  the  fire,  into  which  the  *^J 
trees  are  call,  when  hewn  down,  is  the  fame  with 
which  he  baptizes  ;  and  that  is  what  always  ac- 
companies the  lioly  Ghofl.  Be,  who  has  happily 
experienced  the  work  of  grace  in  taking  him  from 
the  wild  olive  tree  and  ^raftins:  him  into  Chrift, 
knows  v/ellthat  the  Lord  contended  wdth  him  by 
fire. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

As  it  is  a  thing  well  known  that  the  foregoing 
parable  has    generally  been  applied,  by  chriflian 
commentators,  very  -differently  from  the  appf 
tion,  made  by  thefc  notes,  it  is  thought  expe 


I'S  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

to  enlarge  this  edition  by  c-andidly  con fideringfu it- 
able  evidences  by  which  the  fubjed  may  be  the 
more  eafily  judged  of. 

The  fame  reaibn  which  renders  an  illuftration  of 
this  particular  fubjecl  neceifary,  requires  an  illuftra- 
tion alfo  of  notes  on  other  parables,  which  I  pro- 
pofe  the  execution  of,  in  as  plain,  impartial  and 
Icriptural  a  manner  as  God,  by  his  grace,  may  affift 
me  to  do. 

In  my  labors  on  this  very  important  fubjecl,  I 
tliink  it  advifable  to  ftate  the  common  ufe  which 
has  been  made  of  the  text,  in  as  plain  and  concife 
a  manner  as  is  convenient  ;  feek  for  the  relation 
between  the  common  explanation  and  the  text 
with  the  context  ;  confider  fuitable  arguments  to 
fhow  the  impropriety  of  the  common  application., 
and  alfo  tlpiow  the  confiftency  of  the  notes  with 
the  text,  context  and  the  general  tenor  of  the  gofc 
pel. 

The  doiflrine  of  a  future  and  eternal  ftate  of 
tinmerciful  puniihment,  having  obtained  almoft  uni- 
verfal  aftent  in  the  chriftian  church  for  many  cen- 
turies, many  of  the  parables  fpoken  by  our  Saviour, 
as  well  as  many  other  paflkges  of  fcripture,  have 
been  generally  ufed  to  prove  and  enforce  that  fen^ 
timent,  among  w^hich  this  parable  fpoken  by  the 
forerunner  of  Chrift  is  found. 

I  faid  a  future  and  eternal  ftate  o{  unmerciful  pun^ 
iftiment;  for  furely  that  puniihment  which  is  never 
to  end,  cannot  be  faid  to  be  adminiftered  in  mercf^ 
even  by  thofe  who  think  they  can  fee  fuch  puniih- 
ment to  be  confiftent  with  divine  Juftice. 

Agreeably  to  this  doctrine,  it  has  been  generally 
fuppofed,  that  the  true  meaning  of  the  above  text 

that  by  trees  is  meant  righteous  and  wicked  men, 
hat  every  tree  which  bringeth  not  forth  good 


Nofes  on  the  Parables.  13 

fruit,  fignifierh  every  wicked  man  who  bringcth 
not  forth  the  fruits  of  righteoufnefs.  Hewing 
thofe  trees  down  and  cailing  them  into  the  fire, 
fignifieth  the  cutting  off  of  the  wicked  from  all 
their  enjoyments,  and  cafting  them  into  the  be- 
forementioned  flate  of  future,  eternal,  unmerciful 
punifliment. 

Let  us  now  look  for  the  relation  between  the 
above  explanation,  and  the  text  with  the  context. 
Why  are  the  trees  which  bring  not  forth  good 
fruit,  hewn  down  and  caft  into  the  fire  ?  Aniwer, 
bccaufe  they  did  not  Lang  forth  good  fruit,  but 
evil  fruit.  This  is  the  natural  fenfe  of  the  text. 
What  is  the  evil  fruit  produced  by  thofe  trees 
which  are  to  be  caft  into  the  fire  ?  Anfwer,  fin. 
To  this  anfwer  none  will  objc6l.  Now  look  care- 
fully. Will  the  cutting  oflF  of  the  ^cked  from 
ail  poflible  comforts, and  configning  them  to  future, 
eternal,  unmerciful  punifhment,  caufe  them  to 
ceafe  bringing  forth  evil  fruit,  and  to  bring  forth 
good  fruit  ?  Anfwer,  no,  for  that  punilhment 
which  weans  the  creature  from  fin,  and  inclines 
him  to  righteoufnefs,  is  by  no  means  unmerciful, 
nor  can  it  be  endlefs.  And  furcly  it  does  not  re- 
quire a  very  critical  inveftigation  to  fhow  the  im- 
propriety  of  hewing  down  and  burning  trees,  be- 
caufe  they  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  if  this  hewing 
them  down  and  burning  them,  will  in  no  degree 
prevent  their  bringing  forth  this  evil  fruit. 

In  the  8th  verfe,  John  required  of  thofe  whom 
he  calls  a  generation  of  vipers,  to  bring  forth  fruits 
meet  for  repentance  ;  but  in  the  10th  verfe,  he 
intimates  that  they  mufi:  be  hewn  down  and  caft 
into  the  fire  j  and  in  the  1 1  th  verfe,  he  informs 
them  what  he  meant  by  their  being  caft  into  the 
fire.  1  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  \xnto  re- 
B 


14  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

pentance,  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightief. 
than  I,  whof^  fhoe  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear  ;  he 
fliall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghoft  and  with 
FIRE.  We  now  fee  that  if  Chrift's  baptizing  that 
generation  of  vipers  with  the  Holy  Ghoft  and 
with  fire,  mean  their  being  caft  into  future,  eternal, 
unmerciful  punifhment,  then  the  common  appli- 
cation of  this  parable  is  correct ;  if  not,  then  it 
is  cafy  to  fee  that  all  mankind  ftanding  in  the 
fame  character,  in  which  the  unregenerate  fcribes 
and  pharifees  flood,  they  muft  be  cut  off  from  the 
olive  tree  which  is  wild  by  nature  and  be  grafted 
into  the  good  olive  tree,  which  is  Chrift,  in  order 
to  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  rlghteoufnefs  required, 
that  Chrifl  may  be  manifefted  as  the  Lord  our  righ^ 
ieoufnefs,  w^nd  that  the  Saviour's  baptizing  with 
the  Holy  Ghoft  and  with  fire,  effects  this  necefTary 
Vv^ork  of  regeneration,  will  not  be  doubted.  It 
is  hardly  neccfiary  that  I  here  fay  any  thing  on  the 
fubjecb  of  the  conhllency  of  my  explanation  of  the 
above  parable,  with  the  general  tenor  of  the  gof- 
pel,  as  nothing  can  be  more  evident.  If  the  gof- 
pel  were  a  fchenie  of  endlefs  condemnation,  fin 
and  rnifery,  I  grant  the  explanation  which  1  have 
given  of  this  fcripture  would  by  no  means  accord 
with  th-e  general  tenor  of  the  gofpel  j  but  if  the 
gofpel  be  a  fcheme  of  falvation  from  fin  and  death, 
then  thefe  notes  appear  to  agree  with  it. 

PARABLE  II. 

•*  Whefe  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will  thoroughly  purg  ehis 

floor,  and  gather  his  wheat  into  the  garner  :  but  he  will  burn 

cp  the  chaff  with  unq-aeochable  fire."  Mat.  iii.  12. 

THE  main  central  idea  contained  in  this  verfe, 

and  that  which  we  underftand  thereby,  is  eafy  and 

familiar  to  our  fenies,  and  fignifies  a  change  from 


JSotes  en  the  Parables,  1 5 

a  ftate  of  nature.  While  v/heat  is  growing  in  the 
field,  it  is  encompaffed  with  chaff ;  this  is  its  na- 
tural ftate,  which  fhews  the  natural  ftale  of  man 
in  which  he  is  encompalTed  with  the  imperfections 
of  Adam  the  firft,  who  was  made  fubjecl  to  vani- 
ty. When  the  wheat  isbrouo:hc  into  tlie  floor,  it 
is  for  the  purpofe  of  taking  its  fubdance  from  its 
ftate  of  nature,  tliat  it  may  be  the  better  prepared 
for  acceptable  ufe  \  by  which  we  are  taught  that 
circumftance  into  which  God  will  bring  the  crea- 
ture. For,  as  I  have  before  reprefented  the  crea- 
ture by  the  tree  cut  off  from  its  root,  io  novv'  wc 
lee  him  reprefented  by  wheat  rept  down,  or  cut 
off  from  the  ftock  on  which  it  grew  in  the  h^di^ 
and  lying  on  the  floor.  Here  paufe,  and  open 
your  bible  to  Micah  iv.  11,  i«,  13,  and  learn  the 
intention  of  the  Lord  in  bringing  the^enemies  of 
Zion  into  his  floor  as  flieavcs.  The  dau  Hiter  of  Zion 

o 

is  commanded  to  arife  and  threili ;  for  v/hich  pur- 
pofe, God  promifes  to  make  her  horn  iron  and  her 
houghs  brafs,  that  thereby  many  people  miglit  be 
beaten  to  pieces^  but  their  gain  was  to  be  confecratcd 
unto  the  Lord^  and  x\iz\x  fubjlanc^  unto  the  Lordoi 
the  whole  earth  :  So  as  wheat  is  x\\t  fubjiance  of  the 
grov/th,  it  is  to  be  gathered  into  the  garner  of 
Chrift,  which  is  the  church,  or  covenant  repre- 
fented by  Sarah,  or  Jerufalem  wliich  is  above, 
which  is  the  mother  of  us  all.  "  But  he  fliall  burn 
up  the  chaff  with  unquenchable  Are.''  We  cannot 
conceive  of  more  than  one  ur.qiisnehahle  fire,  and 
that  one  is  God,  as  it  is  written,  our  God  is  aeon- 
fuming  fire  ;  it  cannot  be  fuppofed  that  this  fire 
is  quenebable^  neither  can  we  with  propriety  lup- 
pofe  another  unquenchable  fire,  as  that  would  be  fup- 
pofing  another  nature  equal  to  God  h'mifslf. 

Ihis  fire  is  often  alluded  to  in  fcripture,  but 


1 6  Nates  on  the  Parables, 

Ifaiah  xxxili.  14.  is  fufficient  with  the  oth^r  hints 
already  given  :  there  the  queilion  is  alked^  "  Who 
among  us  Avail  dwell  with  devouring  fire?  Who 
among  us  ftiall  dwell  with  everlajilng  bnrnings  /*'* 
And  in  the  15th  verfe  the  queftion  is  anfwered  ; 
"  He  that  walketh  righteouily,"  &c.  By  which 
we  learn,  that  unholinefs  cannot  abide  this  fire^ 
Bor  the  wicked  in  the  character  of  frnfulnefs,  but 
purity  and  holinefs.  ;  and  men^  in  that  chara^^er,  may 
dwell  even  on  high,  and  their  place  of  defence  be 
the  munition  of  rocks,  to  whom  bread  fhall  be 
given,  and  waters  be  fare. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  common  ufe  which  has  been  made  of  this 
parable,  is  the  fame  which  has  bcea  made  of  the 
former;  and  it  is  evident  that  they  were  both 
fpoken  on  one  fubjeft,  and  that  their  meaning  is 
fimilar. 

By  wheat,  in  this  text,  commentators  in  general 
underftand  righteous  men,  and  by  chaff,  wicked 
men  ;  by  gathering  the  wheat  into,  the  garner,  is 
meant  the  receiving  of  the  righteous  into  heaven 
and  eternal  happlnefs,  and  by  burning  up  the  chaff 
with  unquenchable  5re,  is  meant  the  future  eter- 
nal, unmerciful  punifliment  into  which  the  wicked 
will  be  caft. 

As  this  ufe  of  the  text  is  as  difhonorable  to  the 
Saviour,  and  as  tormenting  to  man  as  any  ufe  that 
could  poflibly  be  made  of  the  text,  the  reader  will 
not  be  furprifed  if  there  fliould  appear  to  be  no 
relation  between  the  text,  with  the  context,  and 
the  common  ufe  which  divines  have  made  of  it. 
What  do  our  divines  mean  by  the  righteous  ? 
Anfwer,  thofe  who  have  been  regenerated  and 
born  again.  What  were  they  before  I  Anfwer, 
children  of  wrath  even  as  others.      If  an  uncoQ- 


Notes  on  the  Parables*  1 7 

verted  man  be  chaff,  and  this  fame  man  by  con- 
verlion  become  wheat,  then  cbqff"is  converted  into 
ivbeat.  Why  then  does  the  text  fay  that  the 
v/heat  is  to  be  gathered  into  the  garner,  b\it  the 
chaff  burned  up  with  unquenchable  fire  ?  Would 
a  grower  of  wheat  burn  his  chaff,  if  he  could  con- 
vert it  into  wheat,  efpecialiy  if  he  could  procure 
no  wheat  but  by  the  converfion  of  chaff  ?  Again, 
what  analogy  can  any  body  fee  between  the  ideas 
of  the  Imrningup  of  cbiiffyTixid  the  future  ctcrna],un- 
merciful  punilliment  of  wicked  men  ?  The  burning 
up  of  chaff' furely  means  a  total  deftruclion  of  chaff. 
Who  would  pretend  that  chaff  cou^d  be  burnt  up 
in  a  fire,  and  ftill  remain  chaff  as  before  ?  -As  it  is 
cafy  for  the  reader  to  fee  the  impropriety  of  con- 
verting chaff  into  v/hcat,  or  of  burning  up  the 
chaff  in  unquenchable  fire,  and  having  the  ch.uT 
ftill  remain  chaff  in  the  fire  eternally,  fo  it  is  equal- 
ly eafy  to  fee  the  total  want  of  any  relation  be- 
tween the  text  and  the  ufe  which  divines  have 
made  of  it. 

In  the  notes  on  this  parable  the  reader  may  fee 
their  analoiiv  v;ith  the  text,  the  context,  and  the 
general  tenor  of  the  gx^fpel.  Man  is  reprefented 
in  tv/o  characTters  in  the  fcriptures,  as  may  be  fecn 
in  St.  Paul's  iff  epiflle  to  the  Corinthians,  xv.  z;5, 
46,  47,  48,  49.  "  i\nd  fo  it  is  w-ritten,  the  firll 
man  Adam  was  made  a  living  foul,  the  lafl  Adam 
was  made  a  quickening  fpirit.  Howbeit  that  was 
not  firft  which  is  fpiritual,  but  that  vvliich  is  natu- 
ral ;  and  afterward  that  v»  hich  is  fpiritual.  T]ie 
firft  man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy  ;  the  fecond  m.an 
is  the  Lord  from  heaven.  And  as  is  tlie  earthy, 
fuch  are  they  alfo  that  are  earthy  ;  and  as  is  the 
heavenly,  fuch  are  they  alfo  that  are  heavenly. 
And  as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy, 

B  2 


^^'  Kotes  on  the  Parables. 

we  iTiall  alfo  bear  the  in  .age  of  tlie  heavenly/'  A?i 
wheat  is  encompalTed  with  chail' while  growing  ia 
the  field,  fa  are  mankind  eHConipAiled  with  the  im- 
perfections of  the  firfl  man,  Adam  ;  and  as  the 
wheat  is  feparated  from  the  chaii',  fo  the  gofpel 
difpenfation  is  defigned  to  feparate  mankind  from 
all  the  imperfeclions  of  this  natural  ftate,  and  per-- 
fect  the  whole  in  Chrill:,  the  fecond  man,  who  is 
the  Lord  from  heaven. 

It  may  be  well  for  the  reader  to  open  his  bible 
a>nd  read  the  context,  and  obferve  that^r^  is  fpo- 
ken  of  in  verfes  lo,  ii,  12.  In  the  loth  vcrfe 
John  fays  that  every  tree  which- bringeth  not  forth 
good  fruit,  is  hewn  down  and  caft  iato  the^r^  ; 
in  the  1  ith  verfe  he  tells  the  Pharifees  that  Chrifl 
iliould  baptize  them  with  the  Holy  Ghoft  and  with 
fire  ;  and  in  the  12th  he  fays  that  Chrift  will  burn 
up  the  chaff  with  unquenchable^;-^.  From  thefe 
paiTagcs  it  is  evident  that  xYiQ/ire  into  which  the 
trees  were  to  be  caft,  theyfr^  with  which  the  Sa^ 
viour  baptizes,  and  the  Jire  whi<:h  burns  up  the 
chaff,  are  the  fame  fre.  And  as  this  is  the  fire 
which  accompanies  the  Holy  Ghaft,  in  its  quick- 
ening and  life  giving  operations,  it  is  perfeflly  con- 
fiftent  with  the  text  and  context  to  fuppofe  that 
this  unquenchable  Jire  is  the  Jire  of  divine  love, 
which  is  God  himfelf,  for  God  is  love.  Many 
waters  cannct  quench  love,  neither  can  the  fleods 
drown  it.  This  eternal,  ujiquenchable  fire  of  di- 
vine  love  is  the  great  love  which  St.  Paul  fpeaks  of 
to  the  Ephefians  chap.  ii.  4,  &c.  "  But  God  who 
Is  rich  in  mercy,  for  his  great  love  wherewith  he 
loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  fins,  hath 
quickened  us  together  wuth  Ghrift."  Rom.  v.  8. 
'•  But  God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in 
that  while  we  were  jet  fioners,. Chrift  died  for  us/' 


Ndiies  on  the  Parables,  rg 

Thefe  fcriptures  fhow  us  as  plainly  as  can  be  ex- 
prefTed,  that  God  loves  his  offspring,  man,  while 
he  is  a  finner,  even  while  he  is  dead  in  iins. 
Where  then  can  be  the  propriety  of  explaining 
the  above  parable,  or  any  other,  to  prove  and  en- 
force the  idea  that  God  will  punifh  eternally  and 
unmercifully,  thefe  hLs  offispring,  whom  ke  loves 
with  an  unqnenchablc  love  ? 

It  is  hoped  that  none  into  whofe  hands  thefe 
notes  may  fall,  are  fo  blinded  by  the  unwarrantable 
prejudices  of  education,  as-not  to  lee  that  to  ex- 
plain this  and  other  parables  to  mean  the  final  re- 
conciliation, purification,  and  complete  fanclifica- 
tion  of  llnners,  is  more  confident  with  the  general 
tenor  of  the  gofpel  than  the  contrary  idea. 

I  faid  above,  that  the  idea  generally  entertained 
of  this  parable,  v/as  the  mofi:  diflionorable  to  the 
Saviour,  aad  tormenting  to  man,  of  any  to  which, 
the  text  could  be  applied,  and  1  am  fatisfied  that 
the  llatement  is  correct,  and  that  no  perfon  will 
undertake  to  controvert  it  in  any  way  by  which 
they  can  conveniently  be  anfwcred.  To  fuppofe 
that  he  who  was  feat  of  God,  for  the  exprefs  pur- 
pofe  of  faving  finners,  to  which  end  all  power  la 
heaven  and  on  earth,  are  committed  to  him,  wilt; 
exercife  that  very  power  to  make  thofe  whom  he 
came  to  fave,  endlelsly  miferable,  is  as  diflionorablcL 
an  idea  as  can  be  entertained  of  Chri:9:,  and  furely 
no  idea  can  be  more  tormenting  to  mankind. 

How  widely  difierenc  fuch  a«  opinion  is  from 
the  teftimony  of  the  angel  to  the  fhepherds.  "  Fear 
not,  for  behold  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great 
joy,  which  fliall  be  to  all  people.  For  unto  you  is 
born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviouc,, 
wlxidi  is  Cliriii  the  Lord.'' 


20  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

While  the  falfe  doclrine  which  this  and  many 
other  fcriptures  have  been  forced  to  fupport,  have 
been  urged  with  a  zeal  which  becomes  a  better 
caufe,  to  the  forrow,  mourning,  grief  and  defpon- 
dency  of  thoufands,  the  true  docliine  taught  by 
them  is  calculated  to  fill  the  rational  mind  M^ith 
tlie  mod:  exalted  ideas  of  the  fcheme  of  falvation, 
the  peace  of  God,  which  furpafles  all  the  enjoy- 
ments of  an  earthly  nature,  thofe  joys  unfpeakable 
which  are  full  of  giory,  and  that  love  and  charity 
towards  our  fellow  men,  which  are  the  bond  of 
perfednefs. 

PARABLE  III. 

"  Yc  are  the  fait  of  the  eaith  :  but  if  the  fak  have  loft  its  favor, 
vpherewith  (hall  it  be  faUed  ?  it  is  thenceforth  good  for  no- 
thing,  but  to  be  caft  out,  and  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of 
men."  Mat.  v.  13. 

AS  Will  be  fhown  in  notes  on  another  parable 
in  this  chapter,  Chrifi:  reprefented  the  operation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  by  fire,under  the  iimilitude  of  fait. 
So  in  this  Parable  he  fpeaks  of  his  drfciples  as  an* 
fwering  the  fame  purpofe  to  the  earth,  by  which 
we  underfland  mankind  at  large,  as  the  fire  or  di- 
vine fait  did  to  them. 

2d.  He  Ihows  how  unprofitable  they  would  be 
in  their  holy  callings  Ihould  they  depart  from  the 
fpirit  of  that  hx<^  by  which  he  would  baptize  them, 
by  the  worthlefliiefs  of  fait  when  it  had  loft  its 
favor. 

3d.  That  inflead  of  their  having  power  over 
their  adverfaries,  and  wifdom  to  iilence  gainfayers; 
they  would  themfelves  be  overcome  by  them,  is 
meant  by  fait  being  caft  out,  and  trodden  under 
foot  of  men. 


I^oies  on  the  Parables:  3i 

ILLUSTRATION'. 

Agreeably  with  the  above  notes,  we  may  con- 
£dcr,  I  ft.  The  important  characler  of  the  true 
niiniflers  of  the  gofpel. 

2d.  Their  liability  to  lofe  that  influence  among, 
men  which  renders  them  profitable  in  the  miniftry. 

3d.  The  difrefpecl  with  which  a  miniftry  is  juftly 
treated,  which  is  deftitute  of  the  favor  of  the  word 
ef  fah^ation. 

As  it  is  the  nature  of  fait  to  fave,  prcferve,  and 
feafon,  fo  is  the  true  and  faithful  miniftry  of  the 
gofpel  efficacious  to  fave  men  from  f^n,  to  prefervr 
them  in  uncorruptible  purity,  and  to  bring  them 
into  that  proper  temperament  of  mind  by  whick 
they  are  acceptable  facrifices  unto  God  through 
Jefus  Chrift. 

The  ufe  of  fait  is  feen  in  the  direftions  gi^cn 
concerning  ficrifices  in  Lev.  ii,  13.  "  And  every 
oblation  of  thy  meat-offering  thou  ilialt  feafon  with 
fait  y  neither  ftialt  thou  fuffer  the  fait  of  the  cov- 
enant of  thy  God  to  be  lacking  from  thy  meat- 
offering :  v/ith  all  thine  offerings  thou  fhalt  offer 
ft  It."  This  fait  is  the  divine  power  of  the  cove- 
nant of  God  to  fave  from  iin,  and  reconcile  theiin- 
ner  to  God,  as  may  be  feen  by  Rom.  xv.  16.  "  that 
I  fhouid  be  the  miniftcr  of  Jefus  Chrift  to  the 
Gentiles,  miniftering  the  gofpel  of  God,  that  the 
offering  up  of  the  Gentiles  might  be  acceptable,. 
hcing/andi/ud  by  the  Holy  Ghcfir  The  Holy  Ghoft 
IS  therefore  the  fait  of  the  everlafting  covenant  or- 
dered and  in  all  things  fure. 

2d.  A  departure  from- the  {impllcity  of  the  gof^ 
pel  of  God,  difallowing  the  power  of  the  fait  of 
the  covenant  to  fanctify  and  feafon  the  facriiice, 
fetting  up  creeds,  modes  and  forms  as  neceilary 
unto  falvation,  leading  profelytes  to  depend  on  a 


122  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

righteoufnefs  of  their  own  for  acceptance  wit& 
God,  is  undoubtedly  meant  by  the  minifters  of 
the  word  loiing  their  favor,  and  becoming  good 
for  nothing.  Such  has  been  the  melancholy  fall- 
ing away  of  the  chriftian  miniftry,  and  fuch,  for 
a  long  time,  has  been  the  unprolitablenefs  of  their 
labors.  There  is  no  room  for  mif-judging  in  this 
cafe,  for  the  multitudes  who  have  been  profelyted 
by  them,  have  difcovered  as  much  unholinefs  as 
the  old  gentiles  did  before  the  gofpel  was  preached 
by  the  apoflles.  This  is  witnefled  by  the  cruel 
perfecutions  at  the  head  of  which  has  ever  been 
found  a  carnal  rninifiry,  impofing  creeds  and  carnal 
ordinances  on  men,  of  their  ov»^n  invention.  And 
the  great  want  of  charity  and  brotherly  kindneft 
among  tlie  diS'erent  orders  of  the  clergy  of  this 
country,  too  plainly  fbows  their  want  of  that  fait 
of  the  covenant  (.f  God ;  whiJe  the  ill  will  and 
injurious  bigotry  of  profeiTors  in  general  too  plain- 
ly difcover  that  they  imitate  their  leaders. 

1  hcfe  obfervations  are  not  deiigned  to  reprefent 
that  there  are  no  inftances,  even  in  all  deno^iina- 
tions,  of  faithful  evangelical  minifters  of  the  word, 
but  it  is  very  evident  that  this  clafs  is  by  far  the 
minority. 

In  departing  fixm  the  power  of  the  gofpel  cov- 
evant,  the  chriftian  clergy  have  a6ted  the  part 
which  the  prophet  Ezekiel  accufes  the  fhepherds 
of  Ifraei  of  acting.  See  xxxiv.  4.  "  The  difeafed 
have  ye  not  ilrengthened,  neither  have  ye  healed 
that  which  was  fick,  neither  have  ye  bound  up 
that  which  %vas  broken,  neither  have  ye  brought 
again  that  which  v/as  driven  away,  neither  have 
ye  fought  that  which  was  loft  ;  but  with  force  and 
With  cruelty  have  ye  ruled  them.'V  With  unrea- 
fonable,  unfcriptural,  and  cruel  dodrines  and  eccle- 


l^otcs  on  the  Parables.  23 

fiaftical  difciplines,  have  the  fheep  of  Chrifl  been 
driven  from  the  fold,  and  fcattered  on  barren 
mountains.'  Therefore,  "  thus  faith  the  Lord  God, 
behold,  I  am  againft  the  (hepherds  ;  and  I  will  re- 
quire my  flock  at  their  hands,  and  caufe  them  to 
ceafe  from  feediiig  the  flock ;  neither  fliall  the 
lliepherds  feed  themfelves  any  more  ;  for  1  will 
deliver  my  flock  from  their  mouth,  that  they  may 
not  be  meat  for  them.'*  No  doubt  the  jewifh 
doctors  fuppofed  that  by  compaiung  fea  and  land 
to  make  a  profelytc  to  their  traditions^  by  which 
they  made  void  the  law,  they  obtained  a  facrifice 
well  pleaflng  to  God,  though  they  judged  and 
condemned  their  neighbors  without  mercy.  But 
they  little  thought  while  they  were  doing  this, 
they  were  the  children  of  hell,  and  that  their  prof- 
dyte  would  be  ftill  more  fo» 

On  their  feail  days  could  they  rejoice  and  ofler 
ofierings  to  God  in  gratitude  for  their  fuccefles, 
but  oh  the  reproof!  See  Amos  v.  21,  2fi,  23,  "I 
hate,.J  defpife  your  feaft  days,  and  will  not  fniell 
in  your  folemn  afiemblies.  Though  ye  offer  me 
burnt  offerings  and  your  miCat  offerings,  I  will  not 
accept  them  ;  neither  will  I  regard  the  peace  offer- 
ings of  your  fat  beaffs.  Take  thou  away  from  me 
the  noife  of  thy  fongs ;  for  I  will  not  hear  the 
melody  of  thy  viols."  How  much  like  thofe  Jew- 
ifli  doctors,  chriftian  doctors  are  doing  and  have 
done,  and  how  flmilar  to  the  rejection  of  thofe, 
the  rejection  of  thefe  has  been  and  will  be,  is  not 
very  difficult  to  fee.  Societies  are  now  foimed,  at 
the  expenfe  of  which  fea  and  land  is  compafled  to 
profelyte  micn  to  thofe  fentiments  and  cuftoms 
which  have  kept  the  chriftian  church  in  a  perpetual 
ftrife  and  debate,  perfccution  and  blood,  ever 
fince  they  were  invented. 


24  ^^^^^  on  the  Parables* 

But  3d.  God  will  recompenie  tliis  folly  on  th-ofe 
who  praclife  it,  for  they  now  appear  like  fait  which 
has  ioft  its  favor,  which  is  henceforth  good  for 
nothing  but  to  be  cad  our.  and  to  be  trodden  un- 
der foot  of  men.  The  Lord  will  furely  deliver 
his  people  from  fuch  iQiepherds,  and  make  them 
who  have  difhonorcd  him,  to  be  lightly  eiteemed^ 


PARABLE  IV. 

<*  Ye  «rclhe  light  of  the  world.  A  cicy  that  is  fct  on  an  hill 
cannot  be  hid.  Neither  do  men  light  a  candle,  and  put  it 
iitder  a  biwhe!,  but  on  a  candleftick  ;  and  it  giveth  h'ght  un- 
to all  that  arc  in  the  houfc."  Mat.  v.  14,  15. 

IT  muii  firft  be  remembered  that  Chrill  him- 
felf  is  the  true  light  whicli  lighteth  every  man  who 
Cometh  into  the  world,  fee  St.  John  i.  9  ;  but 
when  Chrift  had  communicated  the  light  of  him- 
felf  to  his  difciples,  they,  acting  in  that  light,  and 
walking  by  it,  would  be  to  others  as  Chrift  had 
been  to  them  ;  fee  St.  John  xvii.  8.  "  For  I  have 
given  unto  them  the  words  which  thou  gaveft  mc; 
and  they  have  received  them."  Verfe  18,  "  As 
thou  haft  fent  me  into  the  world,  e^yenfo  have  I  al- 
fo  fent  the7n  into  the  'world.'*  The  apoflles  were  ap- 
pointed to  mayiifeji  the  gofpel  to  all  nations,  and 
whatfoever  maketh  manifefl  is  light ;  therefore, 
Chrift  declared  his  difciples  to  be  the  light  of  the 
world.  "  A  city  fet  on  an  hill  cannot  be  hid," 
The  order,  regularity  and  harmony,  which  ought 
to  be  obferved  among  the  difciples  of  Chrift,  arc 
fignified  by  a  city.  And  that  they  ought  carefully 
io  exhibit  all  the  virtues  and  graces  of  the  gofpel 
as  confpicuoully  as  poiBblc,  is  meant  by  a  city  be- 
ing fet  on  an  hill  fo  that  it  could  not  be  hid. 
*'  Neither  do  men  light  a  candle  and  put  it  ynd^r 


I^oies  on  the  Parables,  25 

a  bufhel  \  but  on  a  candkftick,  and  it  giveth  light 
unto  all  that  are  in  the  houfe."  riie  dilciples  be- 
ing  lit  by  that  true  light  which  will  finally  light 
every  man  that  conicth  into  the  world,  is  meant 
by  candles  being  lit,  and  that  Chriil  had  lit  them 
for  the  purpofe  of  their  giving  light  to  others, 
and  that  they  ought  not  to  fecrete  that  light  from 
the  world,  is  fignilied  by  a  candle  when  lit  being 
placed  on  a  candleflick  to  give  light  to  all. 

Let  all  profeflbrs  of  chriilianity,  and  efpecially 
thofe  who  are  called  to  the  glorious  work  of  the 
miniilry,  remember  well  the  application  of  the 
parable,  "  Let  your  light  fo  fliine  before  men, 
that  they  beholding  your  good  works  r;iay  glorify 
3'our  father  which  is  in  heaven." 

ILLUSTRATION. 

I  ft.  We  may  notice  Chrift  as  the  true  light. 

2d.  The  minifters  of  his  word  partaking  of  and 
r^fleding  his  light  to  the  world  ;  and 

3d.  The  impropriety  of  kiding  or  keeping  this 
light  in  obfcurity* 

As  the  natural  fun  is  the  light,  glory  and  beauty 
of  the  natural  world,  fo  Chriil:  is  the  light,  glory 
and  beauty  of  the  moral  world.  He  is  called  the 
fun  of  riglitcoufnefs,  in  Mai.  iv.  2.  "  But  unto  you 
that  fear  ray  name,  lliall  the  fun  of  rigliteoufnefs 
arife  with  healing' in  his  wings."  When  Simeon 
of  Jerufalem,  who  waited  for  the  confolation  of 
Ifrael,  to  whom  it  was  revealed,  by  the  Holy  Ghoft, 
that  he  fhould  not  fee  death  before  he  had  feen 
the  Lord's  Chrift,  was  blelTed  with  that  vifion, 
and  held  the  child  in  his  arm^,  he  bleiled  God, 
faying,  "  Lord,  now  letteft  thou  thy  fervant  depart 
in  peace,  according  to  thy  word  ;  for  mine  eyes 
have  feen  thy  falvation,  which  thou  haft  prepared 
C 


4 

0.6  Noies  on  the  Parables* 

before  the  face  of  all  people  ;  a  light  to  lighten  the 
gentiles^  and  the  glory  of  thy  psople  IfraeV  St.  John 
calls  Chrift  "  the  true  lights  which  lighteth  every 
man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  Jefus  calls  him- 
felf  the  lights  in  the  xiith  of  John,  35,  '7^6.  "  Then 
Jefus  faid  unto  them,  yet  a  little  while  is  the  light 
with  you  :  .  walk  while  ye  have  the  light,  leafl 
darknefs  come  upon  you :  for  he  that  walketh  in 
darknefs  knoweth  not  whither  he  goeth.  While 
ye  have  light  believe  in  the  light. ^  that  ye  may  be  the 
children  of //^/j/."  Chap,  viii,  verfe  12,  he  calls 
himfelf  the  light  of  the  world,  "  Then  fpake  Jefus 
again  unto  them,  faying,  /  am  the  light  of  the  ivorld  ; 
he  that  foUoweth  me  Ihall  not  walk  in  darknefs, 
but  fhall  have  the  light  of  life."  Chrift  is  called 
the  light  of  the  gofpel  covenant,  or  new  Jerufalem, 
which  St.  Paul  calls  Jerufalem  that  is  above.  See 
Ifaiah  Ix.  1.  '*  Arife,  Ihine  ;  ior  thy  light  is  come, 
and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  rifen  upon  thee.*' 
Kev.  xxi.  22,  23.  "  And  I  law  no  temple  therein  ; 
for  the  Lord  God  almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the 
temple  of  it.  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the 
fun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  fhine  in  it  j  for  the 
glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the 
light  thereof." 

Perhaps  there  is  no  reprefentation  given  of 
Chrift  which  more  evidently  difcovers  his  power 
to  fave  mankind,  than  in  thofe  fcriptures  which 
fpeak  of  him  in  the  charadler  of  light,  Man  is  re- 
prefented  as  alienated  from  God  through  ignorance, 
'Ihis  being  the  cafe,  the  knowledge  of  the  truth 
would  reconcile  him  to  God.  The  objed  of 
Chrift's  miffion  is  to  reconcile  all  things  to  his 
father.  Whatfoever  maketh  manifeft  is  light* 
When  Chrift  fliall  have  manifefted  the  true  char- 
after  of  the  father  to  mankind,  univerfal  reconcilia- 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  27 

tion  will  be  the  confequence.  Jefus  fays,  "Ye 
fiiall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  fliall  make 
you  free ;"  by  which  we  fee  that  it  was  only  nec- 
elTary  for  them  to  know  the  truth,  in  order  to 
obtain  their  freedom  ;  which  fhows  their  bondage 
was  the  effeds  of  their  ignorance.  Jefus  is  called 
the  faithful  and  the  true  witnefs.  The  ufe  of  a 
witnefs  is  to  make  known  the  tnitli  and  certainty 
of  a  fact,  not  to  be  the  author  of  the  fadl  to  whicli 
he  witnefles.  Chrift  is  a  witnefs  to  mankind  ct 
the  father's  love,  as  has  been  obferved,  in  a  quota- 
tion from  Rom.  v.  8.  *'  But  God  commendeth 
his  love  towards  us,  in  that  while  we  w^ere  yet: 
finners  Chrift  died  for  us.''  Chrift  is  not  the  caiifc 
of  God's  loving  mankind,  but  the  evidence  to  us 
that  God  is  love  towards  us.  The  mercy  and  grace, 
according  to  which  we  are  faved  and  called,  was 
given  unto  us  in  Chrift  Jefus  before  the  world  be- 
gan, but  was  made  manifeft  by  tlie  appemng  01 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jefus  Chrift,  who  hath  abol- 
i(hed  death,  and  brought  life  and  im.mortality  to 
li^hf  through  the  gofpel.  1  he  action  of  light  in 
the  natural  world  is  not  to  create  ohje^s  for  us  to 
fee,  but  to  manijefi  thofe  objeds  of  which  we  are 
ignorant,  or  which  are  hid  from  us  by  reafon  of 
darknefs.  The  things  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
w^ere  hid  from  the  wife  and  prudent,  as  Jefus  fays 
in  Mat.  xi.  25.  And  the  power  to  reveal  the  Fa- 
ther to  mankind  he  acknowledges  in  himfelf,  in 
the  27th  verfe.  "All  things  are  delivered  unto 
me  of  my  father  :  and  no  man  knoweth  the  Son 
but  the  Father  ;  neither  kncv/eth  any  man  the 
Father,  fave  the  Son,  and  "he  to  whomfoever  the 
Son  will  reveal  him." 

The  things  which  were  hid  from  the  wife  and  pru- 
dent, did  as  actually  exift,  as  if  they  had  been  made 


28  •  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

known  to  them  ;  if  this  were  not  the  cafe,  they 
could  not  have  been  revealed  unto  babes.  In  a  word> 
all  the  glorious  truths  of  the  everlafting  gofpel 
have  had  their  eftablifliment  in  God,  in  all  paft 
eternity,  and  the  whole  fyilem  of  the  miniftry  of 
the  gofpel  is  defigntd  to  bring  thofe  things  to 
light,  to  reveal  them  to  mankind,  by  which  the 
reconciliation  of  the  unreconciled,  blind  and  igno- 
rant children  of  our  everlafting  Father  in  heaven 
may  and  will  be  efFecled. 

2d.  We  may  notice  the  minifters  of  the  word 
of  Chrill  partaking  of  and  reflecting  his  light  to 
the  world.  This  is  the  charader  in  which  our 
text  views  them. 

Ab  is  obferved  in  the  notes,  Chrift  gave  to  his 
difciples  the  words  which  the  Father  gave  unto  him, 
and  fent  them  into  the  world  as  the  Father  fent 
him  into  the  world.  The  Father  fent  Chrift  into 
the  world  to  be  the  light  of  the  w^orld  ;  Chrift  fent 
his  apoftles  into  the  w^orld  to  be  a  light  alfo  to  the 
world,  by  communicating  the  fame  words  to  the 
w^orld  at  large,  as  the  father  had  communicated  to 
him,  and  he  to  them.  In  communicating  thefe 
words^  the  minifter  of  Chrift  is  a  light  to  the  people  ; 
but  if  he  change  iXit^Qwords^  add  to  them,  or  di- 
mlnifti  them,  he  becomes  darknefs.  When,  on 
account  of  Chrift's  fpeaking  the  words  of  life,  many 
of  his  difciples  went  back,  and  walked  no  more 
with  him,  Jefus  faid  unto  the  twelve,  Will  ye 
alfo  go  away  ?  "  Then  Simon  Peter  anfwered  him. 
Lord,  to  whom  fhall  we  go  ?  thou  haft  the  words 
of  eternal  life'*  In  the  context,  Jefus  informs  his 
difciples  that  the  words  which  he  fpake  to  them 
wQre/pirit  and  life  ;  fee  vSt.  John  vi.  63,  &c.  Here 
we  have  a  very  plain  account  of  tho  words  which 
the  Father  gave  to  Chrift,  and  which  Chrift  alfo 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  29 

gave  to  his  apoftles  to  preach  to  the  world  of  man- 
kind. They  are  the  zuords  of  eternal  life  ;  they  are 
Jpirit^  and  they  are  life.  In  preaching  the  u.'crds  of 
eternal  life^  the  true  miniiler  of  Jefus  Chrift  is  a 
light  to  the  world.  In  preaching  the  words  oifpirit 
and  life^  the  true  minifter  of  Chrift  is  a  light  to 
mankind. 

It  may  be  well  to  notice  contrary  ivords^  in  order 
to  fee  the  contraft.  The  oppofite  of  eternal  life  is 
eternal  death.  The  oppofite  o'tfpirit  ahd  life  is^^y?^ 
and  death.  The  words  of  eternal  death  we  have 
heard  from  the  lips  of  a  miniftry  which,  having 
loft  the /2// of  the  covenant  of  God,  poffefs  no 
longer  the  favor  of  the  v/ord,  and  therefore  have 
changed  the  words  of  eternal  life^  for  words  more 
confiftent  with  the  darknefs  and  alienation  oi 
their  minds. 

As  has  been  obferved,  the  aclion  of  light  is  to 
make  manifeft  things  which  do  exift,  and  the  duty 
of  a  witnefs  is  to  teftify  of  things  which  arc. 
Thus  the  character  of  light,  and  the  characler  of 
a  witnefs  is  the  fame.  It  has  been  obferved,  that 
Chrift  was  not  the  caufe  of  God's  love  to  us,  but 
the  witnefs  to  manifeft,  or  commend  that  love 
to  us  :  and  it  may  be  proper  to  notice  likewifc, 
as  has  been  obferved,  that  the  mercy  and  grace, 
according  to  which  we  are  called,  \^2i?>  given  unto 
us  in  Chrift  Jefus  before  the  world  began,  but  was 
made  manifefi  by  the  appearing  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jefus  Chrift  ;  who  hath  aboliflied  death 
and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the 
gofpel.  As  it  is  evident  that  the  work  of  the  Sa- 
viour was  to  make  known,  to  the  world  of  man- 
kind, the  good  things  which  were  propofcd  in  the 
eternal  council  of  God's  good  pleafure,  we  ought 
not  to  fuppofe  that  thofe  good  things  were  grant- 
C  a 


3©  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

cd  us  as  favors  pur  chafed,  by  Chrift,  of  the  father. 
Nor  is  it  the  work  of  the  true  goipel  miniftry  to 
initiate  mankind  into  any  fcheme  by  which  they 
may  fecure  to  themfelves  the  love,  favor  or  mercy 
of  God  ;  or  whereby  they  may  obtain  an  heirihip 
with  the  fons  of  God.  But  the  labor  of  the  true 
miniftry  is  to  bear  zvitncfs  of  thofe  things  which 
their  eyes  have  feen,  their  ears  have  heard,  and 
their  hands  have  handled  of  the  word  of  Hfe, 
When  the  preacher  forgets  Chrift,  and  preaches, 
exhorts  and  warns  the  people  io  fecure  an  interefi 
in  Chrifl ;  and  fets  forth  the  awful  confequences 
of  neglecl,  he  is  very  far  from  being  a  faithful  and 
true  witnefs.  For  the  fpr'it  itfelf,  beareth  witnefs 
with  our  fpirits  that  we  are  the  children  of  God, 
and  if  children,  then  heirsy  heirs  of  God,  and  joint 
heirs  with  Jefus  Chrift. 

When  the  devout  Ananias  was  fent  to  Saul 
when  blind  at  Damafcus,  he  ftood  by  him  and  faid, 
"  The  God  of  our  fathers  hath  chofen  thee,  that 
thou  Ihouldeft  know  his  wall,  and  fee  that  juft  one, 
and  ihouldeft  hear  the  voice  of  his  mouth.  For 
thou  (halt  be  his  witnefs  unto  all  men  of  what  thou 
haft  feen  and  heard.**  And  this  teftimony  agrees 
with  the  words  fpoken  by  the  Lord  himfelf  to 
Saul  when  he  met  him  in  the  way,  "  I  have  ap- 
peared unto  thee  for  this  purpofe,  to  make  thee  a 
minifter  and  a  Mritnefs,  both  of  thefe  things  which 
thou  haft  feen,  and  of  thofe  things  in  the  which  I 
will  appear  unto  thee." 

In  bearing  the  teftimony  of  Jefus  to  the  world 
©f  mankind,  Paul  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  bear 
witnefs  of  the  things  which  he  had  feen,  and  thofe 
in  which  his  divine  mafter  would  appear  unto  him. 

The  Saviour  of  fmners  never  ififtructed  Saul 
the  ptrx^wcutor,  h jw  to  obtain  an  intereft  in  Insr 


Notes  on  the  Parables*  ji 

love,  but  he  revealed  the  love  of  the  father  in  his 
foul,  by  his  quickening  fpirit,  and  fent  him  to  bear 
witnefs  to  Tinners  of  the  kjve  and  mercy  of  God 
.  towards  them.  Thus  he  teflifi-es,  "  This  is  a  faith- 
ful faying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that 
Chrift  Jeius  came  into  the  world  to  fave  iinners, 
of  whom  I  am  chief.'' 

The  true  minifti^y  in  which  the  apoflles  were  the- 
light  of  the  world,  may  be  learned  trom  the  ac* 
count  which  St.  Paul  gave  to  the  Corinthians  in 
the  following  words  :  "And  all  things  are  of  God 
who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himfelf  by  Jefus  Chrift, 
and  hath  given  to  us  the  miniftry  of  reconcilia- 
tion ;  to  wit,  that  God  v/as  in  Chrift  reconciling 
the  world  unto  himfelf,  not  imputing  their  tref- 
pafles  unto  them."  In  the  true  miniftry  of  the 
gofpel  in  vv^hich  the  fervants  of  Chrift  are  iht  light 
of  the  world,  there  is  no  imputation  of  fin  to  the 
world.  It  holds  up  to  view  the  Lamb  of  God> 
who  taketh  away  the  fin  of  the  world  ;  it  is  a  tef- 
timony  of  him,  who  fays,  "^  I  came  not  to  judge 
the  world,  but  to  fave  the  world  ;'*  it  is  deter- 
mined to  "  know  nothing  fave  Chrift  and  him  cru^ 
cified."  sdly.  The  necemty  of  this  light's  iliining 
clearly,  and  the  impropriety  of  its  being  obfcured, 
are  conliderations  which  ever  ought  to  lie  with 
weight  on  the  minds  of  thofe  who  are  called  by 
the  grace  of  God,  to  bear  witnefs  to  the  truth  a* 
it  is  in  Jefus. 

ift.  The  infinite  importance  of  the  things  to  be 
made  manifeft  by  this  light,  and  to  be  teftified  of 
by  the  faithful  wLtnefl'es,  is  of  confequence  in  a 
due  confideration  of  this  fubjecl.  1  hefe  things 
are  divine  realities ;  they  comprehend  the  love  of 
an  infinitely  wife  and  merciful  God  ;  his  divine 
purpole  which  he  purpofed  in  himiclf  concernii.g: 


32  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

the  final  reconciliation  of  all  tilings  to  himfelf,  and 
the  means  by  which  he  will  finally  efFecl  it. 

2d.  The  darknefs,  ignorance  and  confequent 
alienation  of  mankind  from  God,  calls  aloud  for 
the  light  to  be  placed  in  a  confpicuous  place,  that 
all  may  fee.  The  mifery  of  mankind  in  confe- 
quence  of  not  knowing  the  truth,  calls  aloud  for 
the  true  witnefs  to  be  faithful  in  his  teftimony. 
Mankind,  deceived,  led  by  carnal  mindednefs,  and 
alienated  from  God,  are  reprefented  as  being  in 
the  prifon  houfe,  from  which  they  are  to  be  de- 
livered by  the  true  and  faithful  teftimony  of  the 
faithful  and  true  witnefs,  as  expreffed  by  the 
prophet,  "  1  the  Lord  have  called  thee  in  righteouf- 
nefs,  and  will  hold  thine  hand,  and  will  keep  thee, 
and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  to  the  people,  for  a 
tight  of  the  gentiles  ;  to  open  the  blind  eyes,  to  bring 
out  xhQ  prifonen  from  the  pri/on,  and  them  that  fit 
in  darknefs  out  of  the  prifon  houfeJ^  And  in  this  i& 
exemplified  the  truth  of  that  icripture  v/hieh  faith, 
''  A  true  witnefs  delivereth  fouls/* 

Though  we  have  great  reafon  to  rejoice,  that 
there  are  any  who  are  willing,  by  the  help  of  di- 
vine grace,  to  bear  that  true  teftimony  by  which 
fouls  are  delivered,  yet  we  have  reafon  to  regret 
that  the  number  is  much  greater  who  give  a  con- 
trary teftimony,  which  is  too  fuccefsful  in  blind- 
ing the  iTiliids  of  th.)fe  who  are  already  too  much 
in  the  dark.  And  many  there  are,  it  is  to  be  fear- 
ed,  who  have  the  words  of  eternal  life  put  into 
their  mouths,  yet  are  fond  of  making  a  poor  ex- 
cufe  to  paliate  their  negled  in  not  letting  their  light 
fliine  before  men. 

May  he  who  walketh  among  the  golden  candle- 
•"'ftick'j^m.tke  his  angeis  fpirits,  and  his  ttiinifters 
flames  ot  fire. 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  33 

PARABLE  V. 

«*  And  if  thy  right  eye  offend  thee,  (or  caufe  thee  to  cffcndi  'wkick 
psrhaps  is  mors  jufi)  pluck  it  out,  and  caft  it  from  th?e  :  for 
it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  ihy  raenibers  fnou'd  per- 
i(b,  and  not  that  thy  whole  body  (hould  be  caft  iolo  hell* 
And  if  ihy  ri^'hc  hand  offend  thee,  (orcavfe  thcc  to^fend)  cut 
it  off,  and  caft  it  ♦rem  the?  :  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that 
one  of  thy  ntyefKbers  fhoulc!  perilh,  and  not  that  thy  whole 
body  fliould  be  caft  into  hell."  Mat  v   29,  3c. 

IT  is  evident  that  Chrifl  fpake  theie  words  by- 
way of  parable  ;  for,  literally  fpeaking,  the  lofs  of 
an  eye  or  an  hand  would  make  no  difference  with 
a  man  in  a  moral  or  a  religious  fenfe. 

Some  have  underflood,  that  by  a  right  eye,  or 
a  right  hand,  was  meant  thofe  particular  iins  to 
which  men  were  mod  prone  or  violently  attached. 
Others  fuppofe,  that  particular  friends  and  connex- 
ions in  life,  who,  being  unfriendly  to  the  religion 
of  Chriil:,  might  lead  us  aflray,  or  caufe  us  to  of- 
fend ao-ainfl  the  G;lorious  caufe  of  the  Redeemer, 
were  to  be  underflood  by  right  eye  or  hand  ;  and 
as  there  is  nothing  in  either  explanation  which 
can  immediately  tend  to  any  grofs  corruption,  I 
need  not  be  very  particular  on  this  part  of  the 
lubjccl  ;  though  perhaps  the  latter  explanation 
would  better  comport  with  the  like  paffage  in  t5t. 
Mark,  where  the  perfon  is  reprefented  as  maimed  in 
confequence  of  parting  with  a  hand,  as  parting 
with  our  frkr.ds  caufes  the  feelings  of  maimcdnefs, 
more  than  the  parting  with  our  nns  does.  Pec- 
haps  we  fliould  do  well  to  decide  in  favor  of  the 
latter  explanation. 

We  pafs  to  take  notice  of  the  hell  noted  in  the 
text.  The  word  hell  is,  undoubtedly,  variouily 
ufed  in  fcripture,  but  always  means  mlfcry  and 
trouble  when  ufed  in  a  moral  fcnfe,  in  winch  fenfe 


34  l^ofes  on  the  Parables, 

it  is  evidently  ufed  in  the  above  paffage.  David 
in  the  1 8th  Pfalm  5th  verfe  fays,  the  forrows  of  hell 
Gompaffed  me  about.  Pfahn  Ixxxvi.  13.  "  Thou 
h^iii  delivered  my  foid  froni  the  loive/i  bed.'*  If  we 
confider  David  here  fpeaking  of  himfelf,  it  brings 
to  mind  that  awful  iniquity  of  which  he  was  guil- 
ty, and  the  crime  for  which  he  condemned  him- 
ielf  before  Nathan  the  prophet.  And  what  quill 
can  deibribe  the  anguilh  of  a  foul  lying  under  the 
guilt  of  a  «rime  of  as  crimfon  a  die  as  any  record- 
ed  in  fcriptux'e  ?  No  wonder  David  fpake  fo  high- 
ly of  the  goodnefs  of  the  Lord  in  granting  him 
a  gracious  remiilion  of  his  fins,  and  a  reieafefrom 
the  bondage  of  iniquity  and  hell  of  guilt.  But, if 
we  understand  tho(e  words  of  David  in  aflill  fur-^ 
ther  light,  and  apply  th^em  to  Chrift,  we  find  him 
"  a  man  of  forrow  and  acquainted  with  grief  ;'* 
and  it  would  be  ftill  more  difficult  to  defcribe  the 
forrows  of  his  heart,  when  his  foul  was  made  an 
cfferingforjin.  The  dreadful  perplexities  into  which 
iin  fo  often  brings  us  would  feem  a  fufficient  in- 
ducement to  raife  an  everlafting  hatred  in  our 
minds  towards  it  \  but  perhaps  we  are  never 
brought  to  hate  iin  as  w^e  ought  to,  until  we  have 
fome  knowledge  of  its  atonement  by  Chrift.  But 
he,  who  bore  our  iius  in  his  ov/n  body  on  the  tree, 
knew  perfectly  v*^ell  the  confequence  of  fin,  and 
therefore  was  able  to  give ''proper  warnings  and 
admonitions  againft  it  ;  and  as  we  lack  wifdom 
in  almoft  all  things,  it  would  be-  happy  for  us  to 
attend  to  thoie  divine  monitions  given  by  the 
great  lover  of  finners.  But  it  is  with  themoft  of 
men  as  with  the  child,  they  dread  not  the^r^  un- 
til they  feel  its  anguiih-giving  power. 

But  before  we  difmifs  this  Parable,  we  will  take 
particular  notice  of  its  correfponding   paiTage  in 


I^ofes  072  the  Parables.  ^^ 

St.  Mark  ;  more  particularly  of  that  fire  of  which 
it  is  faici  it  fliall  never  go  out.  This  fire  is  the 
fame,  no  doubt,  as  defcribed  in  notes  on  former 
Parables  j  perhaps  the  fame  fire  is  alluded  to  in 
Deuteronomy  xxxii.  22.  "For  dijire  is  kindled  in 
mine  anger ^  and  (hall  burn  unto  the  loweji  hcll^'  &c. 
Here  obferve,  this  fire  was  to  burn  unto  the  loivejl 
hell^  which  teaches  us  that  fublime  truth  of  the 
agency  of  the  Divine  Spirit  in  reproving  the  world 
of  iin,  and  cleanfing  it  from  all  iniquity  by  the 
blood  of  the  crofs.  And  that  we  are  right  ref- 
pedling  this  fire,  the  conclufion  will  fully  evince. 
Obferve  Mark  ix.  49.  "  For  every  one  fhall  be 
falted  with^r^,and  everyy^^r//?^^  £hall  h^falted^\\\\ 
fait.  Remember  that  we  are  exhorted  to  ofier 
our  bodies  a  living  facrifice  to  God,  which  is  our 
reafonable  fervice  ;  but  this  cannot  be  doife  until 
we  ?LXtfaIted  withyfr^.  Again,  in  verfe  50,  Chrift 
fays,  "  Salt  is  good  ;  but  if  the  fait  have  loft  its 
faltnefs,  wherewith  will  you  feafon  it  ?''  that  is,  the 
facrifice.  But  we  are  not  to  fuppofe  that  this  di- 
vine fire  can  change  in  itfelf,  but  that  it  may  be 
quenched  in  us  ;  and  therefore  we  are  exhorted  not 
to  quench  the  Spirit,  And  Chrift  clofes,  by  exhort- 
ing his  difciples  to  hd.ve/alt  in  themfelves,  (which 
/a/t  is  ih^t  Jire  which  can  never  be  quenched,)  and  to 
have  peace  one  with  another.  Here,  undoubted- 
ly, we  fee  the  end  of  the  holy  fire  on  the  -altar  of 
facrifice  ufed  in  the  priefthood  of  the  law. 
ILLUSTRATION. 
Becaufe  it  is  faid  in  Mark  ix,  that  the  fire,  into 
which  the  fubjed  (hould  be  caft,  "  never  ihall  be 
quenched,"  the  paffage  has  generally  been  applied 
to  the  fupport  of  the  dodrine  of  future,  eternal 
unmerciful  puniftiment.  And  indeed,  all  fuch 
like  paflages  muft  be  applied  to  that  ufe,  or  that 


^6  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

dodrine  mufl  lofe  the  credit  which  has,  for  a  long 

time,  perhaps  too  implicitly,  been  given  to  it. 

To  fhow  that  fuch  doclrine  has  no  natural  con- 
nexion wirh  the  text  and  context,  we  may  notice 
the  following  particulars. 

I  ft.  Ihofe  to  whom  the  words  of  the  parable 
were  fpoken. 

«d.  The  charader  of  the  fpeaker,  as  he  ftood  in 
relation  to  thofe  to  whom  he  fpake  ;  and 

3d.  The  nature  and  manifeft  dcGgn  of  the  fire 
which  is  never  to  be  quenched. 

I  ft.  According  to  the  connexion  of  the  text, 
where  it  is  found  in  the  y.h  of  Matthew,  Jefus 
fpake  thefe  words  to  thoie  whom  he  calls  in  the 
13th  verfe  *'  the/alt  of  the  earth,"'  and  in  the  14th 
"  the  light  of  the  world."  According  to  tke  con* 
nexion  in  the  9th  of  Mark,  thefe  words  were  ipok- 
en  by  Chrift  to  his  difciples,  as  may  be  feen  by 
reading  from  the  31ft  verfe  to  the  end  of  the 
chapter. 

2d.  The  character  in  which  Jefus  ftood,  in  rela- 
tion to  his  difciples  may  be  learned  by  the  follow- 
ing fcriptures.  St.  John  XV.  12,  &c.  "  This  is 
my  commandment,  that  ye  love  one  another,  as  I 
have  loved  you.  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than 
this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends. 
Ye  are  my  friends,  if  ye  do  whatfoever  1  command 
you.  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  fervants  ;  for  the 
fervant  knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doeth  ;  but  I 
have  called  you  friends,  for  all  things  that  I  have 
heard  of  my  Father  I  have  made  known  unto  you." 
See  alio  chap.  xiii.  34.  '*•  A  new  commandment  I 
give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another  ;  as  1  have 
loved  you,  that  ye  alfo  love  one  another."  From 
thefe  fcriptures  we  learn  that  Jefus  acknowledged 
himfelf  to  be  a  friend  to  his  difciples,  who  loved 


Notes,  on  the  Parables.  37 

tliem,  and  was  ready  to  lay  down  his  life  for  tliem. 
The  ftrength  of  his  love  to  his  difciples  is  alto 
expreiled  in  the  9th  verfe  of  the  15th  of  John  ; 
"  As  the  Father  hatli  loved  me,  fo  have  I  loved 
you." 

3dly.  The  nature  and  manifeft  defign  of  the  fire 
which  is  never  to  be  quenched,  we  learn,  as  has 
been  obferved  in  the  notes,  by  observing  that  Je- 
fus  fays,  in  the  49th  verfe  of  the  9th  of  Mark,  "  For 
every  one  fliall  ho,  faked  with^V^,  and  every  flicri- 
fice  Ihall  be  faked  with  fait."  This  falt^  which  is 
thej^r^  which  never  (liall  be  quenched,  is  the  fame, 
no  doubt,  reprefented,  as  has  been  noticed,  by  the 
fait  of  the  covenant  under  the  law,  according  to 
the  directions  given  in  Lev.  ii.  13.  the  manifeil  de- 
fign of  this  fire  is  to  fave,  by  its  purifying  quali- 
ties, the  fubjecl  on  v/hich  it  operates.  Now  if  we 
can  find  any  natural  conneclion  between  the  three 
particulars,  here  brought  to  view,  and  the  future, 
eternal,  unmerciful  punifliment  of  thofe  difciples 
and  acknowledged  friends  of  Jefus  Chriit,  then 
the  common  opinion  of  this  fcripture  flands  on 
the  evidence  of  the  text.  But  the  erroneoufnefs 
of  fuch  an  opinion  is  fo  palpable,  that  it  requires 
no  argument  to  make  it  more  fo. 

The  objeccor,  poilefling  an  unaccountable  at- 
tachment to  the  opinion  generally  entertained  of 
the  text,  will  fay.  Although  thefe  words  were 
fpoken  to  the  difciples  of  Chrifl,  they  ought  to  be 
applied  to  men  in  general.  To  this  I  agree,  but 
not  to  the  exclufion  of  the  difciples.  There  furely 
would  be  no  propriety  in  faying,  that,  though 
Chrifl  fpake  the  words  of  our  parable  to  his  dif- 
ciples, he  did  not  mean  that  they  Hiould  take  ei- 
ther the  direction  or  the  warning  to  themfelves. 
In  the  connexion  of  the  text  in  Mat,  v.  Chriit 
D 


38  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

fays  to  his  dlfciples,  "  Except  your  rlghteoufnefs 
fiiall  exceed  the  righteoulnefs  of  the  Icribes  and 
pharifees,  ye  fliall  in  no  cafe  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."  It  fure^y  would  not  be  corred 
to  fay  that  Chrift  did  not  mean  that  his  difciples 
fhould  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ex- 
cept their  righteoufnefs  fhould  exceed  that  of  the 
fcribes  and  pharifees.  The  truth  is  plain  enough. 
The  difciples  of  Chrift,  as  vi^ell  as  every  body  elfe, 
nmft  have  a  better  righteoufnefs  than  that  of  the 
fcribes  and  pharifees,  in  order  to  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  ;  and  the  difciples,  c.s  well  as 
every  body  elfe,  were  expofed  to  be  call  into  that 
refining  fire,  which  never  fliall  be  quenched. 
Therefore,  if  any  of  the  human  race  ever  were 
expofed  to  endlefs,  unmerciful  puniftiment,  as 
proved,  or  intended  by  our  parable,  the  difciples 
nioft  furely  were  thus  expofed.  It  is  then  reafon- 
able  for  us  to  query  to  fee  what  friend/hip  that  muft 
be  which  would  exercife  itfelf  in  inflicting  endlefs, 
unmerciful  punifliment  ?  If  this  be  friendfliip, 
what  is  enmity  ?  If  it  be  argued  that  the  fubjecl 
deferves  this  unmerciful  punifliment,  and  that  it 
is  inflided  by  juftice,  though  dire<5ily  contrary  to 
the  benevolent  piinciple  of  friendfliip,  it  is  ac- 
knowledging that  the  friendfliip  of  Chrift  is  di- 
rectly oppofed  to  juftice.  According  to  the  fcrip- 
tures,  Chrift  was  fo  great  a  friend  to  afl  mankind 
as  to  lay  down  his  life  for  them, and  he  is  faid  to  be 
the  fame  yetterday,to  day  and  forever.  How  then 
can  he  become  unmerciful  to  thofe  very  finners 
whom  he  loves,  and  for  whom  he  died  ?  The  pro- 
priety  of  the  notes  on  this  parable,  and  their  re^ 
lation  to  the  whole  connexion,  is  eafy  to  be  lien  ; 
for  any  punifliment  which  is  calculated  to  purge 
and  cleanfe  mankind  from  fin,  is  perfectly  confift- 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  39 

ent  with  the  love  and  friendihip  which  our  Sa- 
viour has  manitefted  for  mankind.  David  was 
afflicled  with  the  pains  and  forrows  of  hell,  and  ac- 
knowledged that  it  was  good  for  him  that  he  was 
aiHicled.  The  goodnels  of  God  to  mankind  is  no 
Icfs  evident  in  the  chaftifenr^its  with  which  I\e 
corrects  his  children,  than  in  the  fmiles  of  his 
providence  ;  f(jr  the  Lord  will  not  cad  off  forever, 
but  though  he  caufe  grief,  yet  will  he  have  com- 
panion according  to  the  multitude  of  his  mercies. 
For  he  doth  not  afllict  willingly,  nor  grieve  the 
children  of  men. 


PARABLE  VL 

**  Enter  ye  Irt  at  the  firait  gate  ;  for  wide  is  the  gate,  and  broad 
is  rhe  way  that  leadcih  to  deftru(5lion,  and  many  there  be 
which  go  in  thereat :  Becaufe  ftrait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow 
IS  the  way,  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  which 
find  it."  Mat.  vii.  13,  14. 

BY  the  ftrait  gate,  we  underftand  the  way  of 
life  communicated  under  the  law,  the  word  Jirait 
having  the  fignification  of  difficult  ;  the  word  nar- 
row is  alfo  ufed  in  defcribing  the  gate,  or  way  of 
life.  The  way  of  life,  under  the  law,  in  refpecl 
to  difpenfcition,  was  through  thofe  fhadowy  types 
made  uie  of  under  that  difpenfation,  or  in  the 
priefthood  of  the  law  ;  and  the  way  was  fo  narrow 
or  difficulty  that  few,  very  few  were  enabled  to  look 
through  the  figures  of  the  law,  and  behold  Chrift  : 
Or  if  pofTible  to  make  the  idea  more  plain,  we  fliy, 
Chriit  is  the  only  way  of  life,  as  he  fays  of  himfelV, 
"  I  am  the  way,"  &c.  And  although  it  may  feem 
difagreeable  to  a  chriftian  who  has  been  taught 
the  unbounded  grace  of  the  Saviour,  and  viewed 


40  Notes  on  the  Parables-* 

him  as  a  place  of  broad  rivers,  to  tell  him  that 
tliis  fame  Jefus  was  narroii}^  life  difficult  to  be  ob- 
tained by  him,  &c.  yet,  when  we  confider  that  the 
chriftian  of  the  prefent  day  enjoys  thofe  things 
which  many  prophets  long  defired  but  obtained 
not,  and  that  tliofe  who  had  tlic  brighteft  ideas 
of  the  Saviour,  under  the  law,  faw  him,  in  refped 
to  the  prefent  difpenfation,  through  a  glafs,  and 
that  as  darkly  as  tliofe  who  now  believe,  view  him 
in  his  gl9ry,  which  is  to  be  revealed  in  the  ages 
to  come,  it  will  not  feem  unjuft  to  reprefent  the 
Saviour,  under  the  law,  as  a  Jirait^  difficult  and 
7iarrow  way. 

On  tlie  other  hand,  it  is  juft  to  reprefent  the 
way  of  death,  which  leadeth  to  deftruclion,  broad, 
in  the  fame  proportion  as  the  way  of  life  is  nar- 
row ;  obferving  at  the  fame  time,  that  the  repre- 
Icntations  are  under  the  fame  difpenfations.  But 
Vvhat  is  meant  in  the  text,  by  the  way  and  gate 
which  leadeth  to  deftru6lion  ?  Anfv/er,  if  (thrift 
the  heavenly  man  is  the  way  of  life,  it  is  evident 
that  the  earthly  n>an  is  the  way  to  deftruclion  ;. 
and  though  the  Jews,  generally  fpeaking,  looked 
for  falvation  by  tlie  v/orks  of  the  carnal  or  old 
man,  and  though  that  way  fecmed  right  to  them, 
tlie  end  thereof  was  death  to  the  w^/?^  who  fought 
falvation  in  that  way.  Kwa  though  many  in  the 
prefent  day  may  be  as  uncircumcifed  in  heart  and 
ears  as  the  unbelieving  Jews,  and  may  boaft  of 
their  hard  earned  right eoufnefs.  and  dcfpife  others 
for  the  lack  thereof,  and  all  thefe  things  feem  right 
to  them  ;  and  though  they  may  fancy  themfelves 
alive  without  the  law,  yet  when  the  command- 
ment fliall  come  v/ith  divine  authority  on  their 
minds,  the  end  of  all  their  righteoufnefs  will  be 
death.     liappy  is  the  foul  that  can  boafl  the  lofs  of 


l^Ieies  on  the  Parables.  41 

all  thefe  things,  and  glory  alone  in  the  righteoul- 
nefs  of  the  great  Redeemer. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  common  ufe  of  the  above  paiTage  has  been 
to  prove  that  the  number,  which  will  finally  ob- 
tain faivation  by  Jefus  Chrift,  will  be  few  ;  and 
that  the  number  which  will  fufFer  endlefs,  unmer- 
ciful  punifliment  will  be  many. 

As  the  notes  give,  as  is  conceived,  the  true  mean- 
ing of  the  text  in  as  plain  a  manner  as  is  eafy  to 
explain  it,  all  which  is  neceflary  to  be  done  is  only 
to  fhow  that  the  common  opinion  is  as  contrary 
to  the  plain  and  pofitive  declaration  of  fcripture, 
as  it  is  to  the  benevolent  principles  infpired  by 
divine  truth. 

The  number  fet  forth  in  the  fcriptures  as  the 
happy  fubjeds  of  gofpel  faivation,  may  be  judged 
of  from  the  promiies  made  to  the  fathers,  in  which 
it  is  faid  that  ail  the  families,  all  the  nations,  and 
all  the  kindreds  of  the  earth  fhall  be  blelled  in 
Chrill  the  feed  of  Abraham.  1  he  only  method 
by  which  the  oppofer  of  univerial  faivation  by 
Chrift,  pretends  to  get  along  with  the  promifes  of 
God,  as  Hated  above,  is,  by  fliying  the  blejftng  prom- 
ifed,  means  the  temporal  blefiings  of  Providence,  of 
which  all  men  partake  in  this  life.  And  though 
this  be  the  only  way  to  avoid  the  real  gofpel  truth, 
yet  it  acknowledges  one  main  point,  by  which  the 
partial  doctrine  is  deftroyed.  For  it  allows  that 
the  promiies  are  Ifriclly  to  all  men  without  dif- 
tinction.  1  his  being  the  cafe,  the  whole  is  loil;  on 
the  part  of  the  oppofer  by  the  particular  teifimo- 
ny  of  8t.  Paul  to  the  Galatians,  in  which  he  de- 
cides the  matter  beyond  ail  difpute.  See  Gal.  iii. 
8.  *■'  And  the  fcriptures  forefeeing  that  God  would 
jujiijy  the  heathen  throughy^//y6,  preached  before  the 
D  2 


42  l^oies  on  the  Parables, 

go/pel  unto  Abraham,  faying,  in  thee  fhall  all  na- 
tions be  blefled."  By  this  fcripture  we  fee  that 
the  promife  is  2i  go/pel  promife,  and  that  X.hQbleJJlng 
IS  jujlificaiion  through  faiths  If  all  the  nations,  all 
the  families  and  all  the  kindreds  of  the  earth  are 
finally  blclTed  with  j unification  through  faith,  in 
Chriil  the  feed  of  Abraham,  the  opinion  that  but 
few  of  the  human  race  will  be  faved  by  Chrift, 
cannot  poiTibly  be  true.  It  is  remarkable  that  a 
docliine  direclly  contrary  to  the  moft  plain  and 
pofitive  declarations  of  fcripture  fliould  ever  have 
gained  fuch  general  confent,  and  become  incorpo- 
rated as  an  eilential  article  in  the  chriflian  faith. 
So  extraordinary  do  I  view  this  particular,  that  I 
coniider  it  one  of  the  ftrongeft  evidences  of  the 
trutli  of  chrilHanity.  Though  it  may  be  thought 
a  digrefiion  from  our  fubjecl:,  I  am  difpofed  to 
notice,  in  this  place,  two  important  evidences  of 
the  truth  and  authenticity  of  divine  revelation^one 
of  which  feems  tp  have  been  defigned  for  the  con- 
viction of  the  gentiles,  of  the  divinity  of  the  pro- 
phecies of  the  old  teftament,  and  the  other  for 
the  conviction  of  the  Jews  of  the  divinity  of  the 
new.  The  firft  is  the  very  remarkable  fulfilment 
of  the  prophecies  of  the  old  teftament,  relating  to 
the  rejeclion  and  crucifixion  of  the  MefTiah,  by 
the  Jews.  The  Jews  were  tradifionally  educated 
to  believe  in  a  MeFiiah ;  their  prophets  frecjuently 
fpake  of  him,  and  fome  of  them  pointed  out  the 
treatment  which  he  would  meet  with  from  that 
very  people  who  anxioully  expected  him.  Such 
prophecies,  to  the  common  judgment  of  mankind, 
iimft  appear  not  a  little  improbable,  and  it  is  very 
evident  that  the  rulers  among  the  Jews  were  ig- 
norant of  the  meaning  of  thofe  prophecies,  not- 
withftaading  they  profeiled  to  believe  in  them* 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  43 

The  gentiles  might,  with  fceming  plaufibilityjciif- 
credit  the  prophecies  of  a  Meiliah,  they  being  fo 
iaiprobablc.  .For  who  would  expect  to  fee  thefe 
Jews,  who  were  anxiouily  expecting  their  Mciliah^ 
fulfil  that  part  of  the  prophecies  which  related  to 
their  rcjecling  him,  and  even  putting  him  to  death? 
But  all  thcfc  things  were  aclually  done  by  the  ru- 
lers, dodors,  fcribes  and  mofl  religious  people  of 
the  Jews.  Here  then  the  unexpected  event  took 
place,  and  the  moft  improbable  part  of  the  pro- 
phecies was  accompliflied  in  a  moil  fignal  manner. 
Of  this  circumfiance  the  apoftle  of  the  gentiles  did 
not  fail  to  make  the  beft-pofliblc  ufc  in  that  mem- 
orable fermon  which  he  delivered  at  Antioch,  in  a 
lynagogue  of  the  Jews,  a  part  of  which  is  record- 
ed in  the  13th  of  Acts.  Paul,  addrefiing  the  Jews, 
jrives  them  a^^sreneral  Iketch  of  God's  dealincjs  with 
their  nation,  and  of  his  fulfilling  his  promife  in 
raifing  up  Jefus,  of  the  feed  of  David,  and  coming 
in  order  to  Chrift,  fays,  "  Men  and  brethren, 
children  of  the  flock  of  Abraham,  and  whofoever 
among  you  feareth.  God,  to  you  is  the  word 
of  this  falvation  fent.  For  they  that  dwell  at  Je- 
rufalem,  and  their  rulers,  becaufe  they  knew  him 
not,  nor  yet  the  voices  of  the  prophets  which  are 
read  every  fabbath-day,  they  have  fulfilled  them 
in  condemning  him.  Be  it  known  unto  you, 
therefore,  men  and  brethren,  that  through  this 
man  is  preached  unto  you  the  forgivcnefs  of  fins  ^ 
and  by  him  all  that  believe  are  juflified  from  all 
things,  from  which  ye  could  not  be  juflified  by 
the  law  of  Mofes.  13eware,  therefore,  leafl  that 
come  upon  you  which  is  fpoken  of  in  the  prophets. 
Behold,  ye  defpifers,  and  wonder,  and  perifh  ;  for 
I  work  a  work  in  your  days,  a  w^ork  which  ye 
fliall  in  no  wife  believe,  though  a  man  declare  it 


44  ^(^^^^  0^  i^^  Parables. 

unto  you."  The  e;entiles,  on  this  occafion,  were 
ftruck  with  convidion  in  their  minds,  of  the  truth 
of  thofe  prophecies  which  the  Jews  had  fo  remark- 
ably fulfilled,  and  defired  to  hear  the  word  on  the 
next  fabbath.  The  report  of  Paul's  preaching  was 
generally  fpread  through  the  city,  and  almoft  the 
whole  city  affembled  to  hear.  At  this  the  envy 
of  the  Jews  was  moved,  and  they  fpake  againft 
thofe  things  which  were  fpoken  by  Paul,  contra- 
dieting  and  blafpheming.  Then  Paul  and  his 
companion  boldly  give  up  the  Jews  in  open  aflem- 
bly,  to  the  blindnefs  of  their  eyes  and  to  the  hard- 
nefs  of  their  hearts,  and  turned  to  the  gentiles 
with  thefe  words  ;  "•  For  fo  hath  the  Lord  com- 
manded  us,  fiiying,  I  have  fet  thee  to  be  a  light  of 
the  gentiles,  that  thou  fliouldeft  be  for  falvation 
unto  the  ends  of  the  earth."  At  this  the  gentiles 
believed,  and  glorified  the  word  of  the  Lord. 

The  gentiles,  in  this  cafe,  had  as  good  a  proof 
of  the  truth  of  the  prophecies  as  the  nature  of  the 
eaie  could  admit  ;  and  it  was  fufficient,  by  the 
bleffing  of  God,  to  open  their  eyes  to  the  light  of 
divine  revelation,  and  to  the  fcheme  of  falvation 
by  Jefus  Chrift.  The  reader  will  remember  that 
they  were  firft  called  chriltians  at  Antioch. 

How  wonderful  are  the  ways  of  God  !  He  was 
pleafed  to  hide  the  things  of  the  gofpel  from  the 
wife  and  prudent  among  his  covenant  people,  that 
their  blindnefs  and  hardnels  of  heart  might  be  a 
mean  of  converting  the  gentiles,  as  that  blindnefs 
and  hardnefs  of  heart  was  necelTary  unto  the  ful- 
filment of  the  prophecies. 

2d  Ihe  prophecies  of  the  new  teftament  are  as 
remarkable  as  thofe  of  the  old.  They  appear  to 
the  common  reafon  of  mankind  to  wear  the 
appearance  of  improbability.      They  fpeak  of  a 


TSIotes  on  the  Parables*  4:5 

falling  away  from  the  true  doclrine  and  worfliip 
of  Chrift,  and  of  the  embracing  of  the  doctrines 
of  devils,  and  the  worfliipping  of  a  bead.  And 
thefe  things  are  as  plainly  pointed  out  in  the  new 
teftament  as  the  crucifixion  of  Chrift  is  in  the  old. 
The  fulfilment  of  thefe  new  teftament  prophecies, 
by  profefling  chriftians,  is  as  remarkable,  and  as 
convincing  of  the  divinity  of  the  prophecies,  as 
the  fulfilment  of  the  JewiHi  prophecies,  by  thofe 
who  profeffed  to  underftand  and  believe  them, 
was  of  their  divinity.  And  it  feems  to  be  evident 
from  the  fcriptures,  that  God  will  make  as  glori- 
ous a  ufe  of  the  apoftacy  of  the  chriftian  church, 
as  he  did  of  the  apoftacy  of  the  Jcwifh  church. 
The  apoftacy  of  the  Jews  was  a  mean  of  convert- 
ing the  gentiles,  and  the  apoftacy  of  the  chriftian 
church,  and  their  recovery  from  their  apoftacy, 
will  completely  fulfil  ail  the  prophecies  of  the  new 
teftament,  fo  far  as  is  neceflary  to  convince  the 
Jews  of  the  divinity  of  the  new  teftament. 

Thus  we  fee  that  God  communicated  mercy  to 
the  gentiles  through  the  biindnefs  and  unbelief  of 
the  Jews  ;  and  alfo.  We  have  reafon  to  hope  that 
througli  the  fall  and  recovery  of  the  chriftian 
church,  mercy  will  be  commuiucai  ed  to  the  Jews  ; 
fo  that  finally  of  the  twain,  our  blcfted  Lord  will 
make  one  new  ri;an  in  ever  ■aftinp;  and  eternal  peace. 

Vv'ha^  1  have  endeavored  to  fuggcft  to  the  read- 
er's undcrftanding,  in  this  digrefiion,  was  very 
clearly  labored  and  ihown  to  the  church  at  Rom.e 
by  St.  Paul  in  iiis  epiftle  to  that  church,  fee  chap. 
xi.  30,  31,32.  "  For  as  ye  in  times  paft  have  not 
believed  God,  yet  have  now  obtained  mercy 
througli  their  iinbiUef ;  even  fo  have  theic  alfo  now 
not  believed,  that  through  your  mercy  they  alfo 
may  obtain  mercy.    For  God  hath  concluded  them 


4^  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy  upon 
all."  The  fame  thing  is  exprelTed  in  a  number  of 
ways  in  this  chapter.  Coniiftently  with  the  fore- 
going, 1  fee,  to  my  fllri^faclion,  why  the  doctrine 
of  future,  eternal,  unmerciful  punifhment  has  been 
generally  credited  in  the  chriilian  church.  '1  he 
apouacy  would  not  have  been  complete  without 
it.  1  his  doctrine  is  exactly  the  reverfe  of  the  gol- 
pel  of  falvation  ;  and  the  character  of  a  devour- 
ing  bealt,  is  exadly  the  reverfe  of  the  character  of 
the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  im  of  the 
world. 

I  may  now  proceed  further  to  fhow  that  the 
notion,  that  the  number,  who  will  finally  obtain 
falvation  by  Chrift,  will  be  few^  is  direcTiy  contra- 
ry to  the  teftimony  of  fcripture.  See  I'faiah  liii. 
n,  "He  fhall  fee  of  the  travel  of  his  foul,  and  fhall 
be  fatisfied  :  by  his  knowledge  fliall  my  righteous 
{QYV2ii\l  ju/iijy  many  ;  for  he  ihall  bear  their  iniqui- 
ties." If  the  few  mentioned  in  St.  Matthew  be 
all  who  finally  obtain  falvation  by  Chrift,  what  will 
become  of  the  7?iany  fpoken  of  in  Ifaiah,  who  are 
juftified  by  him  who  bore  their  iniquities  ?  See 
Rev.  vii.  9,  10.  "  After  this  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a 
great  multitude,  which  no  man  could  number,  of  all 
nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues^ 
ftood  before  the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb, 
clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands; 
and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  faying,  falvation  to 
our  God,  which  (itteth  upon  the  throne  and  unto 
the  Lamb."  If  the  few  mentioned  in  St.  Matthew 
be  all  who  ever  obtain  falvation  by  Chrift,  what 
will  become  of  the  great  muliitude,  which  no  man 
can  number,  of  all  nations,  and  all  kindreds,  and 
all  people,  and  all  tongues,  who  are  permitted  to 
liand  before  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb,  and 


Notes  on  the  Parables*  4^ 

to  be  clothed  with  white  robes^  and  palms,  the  en- 
iigns  of  victory,  in  their  hands  ;  who  cry  with  a 
loud  voice,  laying,  '^  £dvation  to  our  God,  which 
fitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  ?*' 
Should  it  pleal'e  the  condefcenlion  of  my  heavenly 
father,  to  grant  one  io  unworthy  as  myfeU,  the 
humblell  ftation  in  that  innumerable  company,  I 
hope  I  iliould  not  be  difpofed  to  envy  any  iitua- 
tion  to  which  others  might  afpire. 

The  language  of  the  above  text  is  perfectly 
adopted  to  fhovv,  that  the  promife  made  to  the 
fathers,  will  finally  be  accomphflied  in  its  moft  ex- 
teniive  and  glorious  fenfe. 

Should  any  fuppofe  that  it  is  inconliftent  with 
truth  to  hope  for  the  {^ilvation  of  any  who  enter 
in  at  the  wide  gate  which  leadeth  to  dcflruclion, 
let  them  remember  the  teftimony  of  the  Lord  by 
the  prophet  Hofea.  See  chap.  xiii.  9.  "  O  Ifrael, 
thou  haft  dejiroyed  thyfcif ;  but  in  me  is  thine  help." 


PARABLE  VIL 

**  Therefore,  whof.  ever  LeHieth  thtfe  fiylngsof  mine,  and  doth 
them,  I  will  liken  him  urito  a  wife  maa  which  built  his  houfe 
Upon  a  rock.'*  Mat    vii.  24. 

THE  words  of  Chrift,  to  which  he  here  un- 
doubtedly refers,  immediately  precede  thofe  which 
I  have  written,  in  which  he  obierves,  that  many 
might  fay  unto  him,  Lord,  Lord,  who  (hould  not 
be  admitted  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  but 
they  alone  (hould  be  admitted  who  did  the  will  of 
his  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  But  juft  before,  he 
was  fpeaking  of  the  good  and  bad  trees  and  of 
their  refpeclive  fruits,  arguing  the  impoflibiliiy  of 
a  good  tree  bringing  forth  evil  fruit,  or  a  corrupt 


4§  l^otes  on  the  Parables, 

tree  bringing  forth  good  fruit  ;  and  further  he 
fays,  every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit 
is  hewn  down  and  caft  into  the  fire ;  the  meaning 
of  which  I  have  elfewhere  given.  But  we  may 
here  learn,  that  thofe  who  partake  of  the  corrupt 
tree  alone,  that  have  not  yet  been  cut  down  and 
call  into  the  lire,  as  we  have  before  defcribed,  but 
are  ftill  laboring  to  eftablifh  a  righteoufnefs  of  their 
own,  being  ignorant  of  the  righteoufnefs  of  God, 
may  profefs  chrillianity,  and  fay  to  Chrift,  Lord, 
Lord,  &c.  ;  but  thofe,  and  thofe  alone  who  do  the 
will  of  the  Father,  can  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  :  therefore,  thofe  who  heard  the  fayings  of 
Chrill  and  did  them,  were  likened  unto  a  wife  man 
who  built  his  houfe  upon  a  rock.  By  houfe^  I  un- 
derftand  the  hope  or  confidence  in  which  the  mind 
refts.  By  rock^  I  underftand  Chrift,  which  idea  is 
too  evident  to  need  proof.  And  what  can  com- 
pare with  that  wifdom  w^hich  teaches  us  to  put  our 
truft  in  Chrifc,  and  build  all  our  hopes  of  falvation 
on  that  rock  of  ages,  that  chief  corner  ftone  which 
fooliiii  builders  refufe  ?  He,  and  he  only  is  truly 
wife  who  doth  this  ;  ,all  other  wifdom  is  from  the 
earth, from  beneath,  &c.  But  the  wifdom  of  which 
I  fpeak,  to  what  lliall  I  compare  it  ?  "  It  cannot 
be  gotten  for  gold,  neither  fhall  fiiver  be  weighed 
for  the  price  thereof.  It  cannot  be  valued  with 
the  gold  of  Ophir,  with  the  precious  onyx  or  the 
fapphire.  The  gold  and  the  cryftal  cannot  equal 
it  :  and  the  exchange  of  it  Ihali  not  be  for  jewels 
of  fine  gold.  No  mention  Ihail  be  made  of  coral, 
or  of  pearls  :  for  the  price  of  wifdom  is  above 
rubies.  The  topaz  of  Ethiopia  fliall  not  equal  it, 
neither  fhall  it  be  valued  with  pure  gold."  Job 
xxviii.  15,  165  17,  18,  19. 


Koics  en  the  Parables,  49 

^^  And  every  one  that  heareth  thcfe  fafings  of  m'lne^ 
and  doth  them  not^  Jhall  be  likened  unto  a  fooTiPp  man 
which  built  his  hoiife  upon  the  f and,     Verfe  26. 

As  was  fliid  in  the  other  inftance,  the  houfe  is 
xkizhope  or  coniidence  in  which  the  mind  rells.  By 
the  land,  I  underftand  that  righteoufnci's  of  which 
I  fpake  in  the  defcription  of  the  corrupt  tree.  And 
what  can  equal  the  folly  of  man  who  is  vile,  plac- 
ing his  hopes  of  falvalion  in  works  of  his  own  ! 

In  verfes  25.  27.  it  is  faid,  "  The  rains  dcfccnded^ 
the  jloods  came^  and  the  winds  blew^  and  beat  upon  thefe 
houjes^  and  that  which  was  built  upon  a  r  oik  fell jiot^  be- 
caufe  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock  ;  but  that  which  was 
built  upon  the  f and  ^  fell  ^  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it, ^^ 

I  (hall  turn  the  reader  to  Ifaiah  xxviii.  beginning 
at  the  16th,  to  the  clofe  of  the  22d  incluhve.  Here 
obferve,  a  ftone  is  laid  in  Zion  for  a  foundation  ; 
this  is  the  rock  or  ftone  fpoken  of  in  our  text  ; 
and  it  is  faid  to  be  a  tried  ilone,  a  precious  corner 
flone,  and  a  fure  foundation  ;  and  that  he  wl]0  be- 
lieveth  Ihould  not  make  hafte.  llien  there  is  ^Xi* 
account  given,  of  judgment  being  laid  to  the  line,- 
and  righteoufnefs  to  the  plummet.  This  line  and 
plumb  were  ufed  in  laying  this  foundatitm  in  Zion, 
and  tnis  chief  corner  ftone  was  raifed  by  them. 
Something  of  the  famie  was  communicated  to 
Amos,  fee  Amos  vii.  7.  "  Thus  he  fliewed  me,  and 
beliold  the  Lord  ftood  upon  a  wall  made  by  •&.  plumb- 
line^  with  a  plumb-line  in  his  hand  ;"  which  plumib- 
line  the  Lord  told  Amos  he  would  fet  in  the  midft 
of  his  people  Ifrael,  and  that  he  would  pafs  by 
them  no  more.  Note,  Chrift  is  here  m.cant  by  a 
chief  corner  ftojte,  the  fpirit  of  the  law,  by  a, 
plumb-line,  and  the  whole  houfe  of  Ifrael  brought^ 
to  perfect; rcclit.ude,  is  reprefented  by  a  wall  built 


50  l^oics  on  the  Parables, 

by  a  plumb-line  •,  and  this  is  the  houfe  which  will 
endure  when  the-llorm  fliall  come,  whicb  is  de- 
fcribed  in  Ifaiah  xxviii.   17,  he,     "  And  the  hail 
fliall  fweep  away  the  refuge  of  lics^  and  the  waters 
lliall  overflow  the  hiding-place.*'  The  refuge  of  lies 
is  the  fame  as  the  houfe  builded  on  the  fand.     Here 
we  are  taught,  that  nothing  but  that  which  is  raif- 
cd  by  plumb  and  line  can  endure  when  the  over- 
flowing fcourge  fhall  come  ;   nothing  can  abide 
but  the  gold,  the  filver,  and  the  precious  fl:ones 
builded  on  thefure  foundation.     In  verfe  ao,  felf- 
righteoufnefs  is  defcribed  thus,  "  For  the  bed  is 
Shorter  than  that  a  man  can  ftretch  himfelf  on  it  ; 
and  the  covering  narrower  than  that  he  can  wrap 
himfelf  in  it."     -And  in  verfe  22d,  it  is  faid  that 
there  is   "  a  confumption  determined  upon  the 
whole  earth  :"  When  the  whole  earthly  nature, 
wdth  all  its  increafe,  ihall  be  deflroyedj  then  fliall 
the  hope  of  the  hypccriie periJJ?^  the  houfe  of  thefelf- 
righteous  fliall  fall,  and  great  fliall  be  the  fall  there- 
of.    Let  the  qucftion  be  aflied,  among  the  various 
denominations    who  profefs  chriftiartity,  and  call 
Jefus  Lord^  how  many  rare  ones  can  be  found  who 
hear  the  words  of  Chrifl:  and  do  them  ?     Who 
have  obtained   that  'wifdom   whereby    they    are 
taught  to  depend  on  nothing  but  Chrifl:  and  him 
crucified  ?     We  ought  to  make  but  one  denomi- 
nation of  real  chriftians  ;  all  who  hear  the  words 
of  Chrifl  and  do  them,  are  of  that  clafs  ;  and  all 
thofe,  who,  trufting  in  themfelves,  vainly  believe 
that  they  are  rich  and  increafed  in  goods,  muft 
find  their  gain  to  be  their  lofs  :  and  may  God  grant 
that  at  the  laft  they  may  find  their  lofs  to  be  their 


Notes  on  the  F arables,  5 1 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  common  opinion  of  the  falling  of  the  houfe 
which  is  built  upon  the  fand,  is,  that  it  lignifies 
the  failing  of  a  falfe  hope,  and  the  greatnefs  of 
the  fall  is  fignificant  of  the  endlefs  def'pair  of  the 
builder.  Againft  this  opinion,  1  fhall  endeavor  to 
introduce  fome  queries,  by  way  of  inveftigation. 
I  believe  it  will  be  agreed  by  all,  that  the  falling 
of  the  houfe  builded  on  the  fand,  is  the  finie  as 
the  deftruclion  of  the  hope  of  the  wicked,  which 
is  as  the  giving  up  of  the  ghoft.  What  I  wifli  to 
direct  the  reader's  attention  to,  is  the  queftion, 
whether  the  failing  of  a  falfe  hope  neceflarily  im- 
plies that  the  difappointed  can  never  receive,  from 
another  quarter,  that  for  which  he  hoped  on  falfe 
grounds,  or  even  bleflings  infinitely  better. 

Let  us  take  St.  Paul  for  an  inflance.  His  hopes 
of  falvation,  before  he  was  converted,  were  all 
built  upon  the  fandy  foundation  of  legal  righteouf- 
nefs.  Did  this  hope  abide  ?  No,  furely  it  did  not. 
It  was  utterly  demolilhed,  and  became  of  no  value 
even  in  his  own  judgment.  But  did  he  not  ob- 
tain, from  another  quarter,  that  which  was  infi- 
nitely more  valuable  than  he  had  before  conceived 
of?  See  his  own  anfwer  to  this  query:  "Phil,  iii, 
4,  &c.  "  Though  I  might  alfo  have  confidence  in 
the  flefh.  If  any  other  man  thinketh  that  he  hath 
whereof  he  might  trufi:  in  the  flefli,  I  more ;  cir- 
cumcifed  the  eighth  day,  of  the  ftock  of  Ifrael,  of 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  an  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews, 
as  touching  the  law,  a  pharifee ;  concerning  zeal, 
perfecuting  the  church ;  touching  the  righteoufnefs 
which  is  in  the  lav/,  blamelefs.  But  what  things 
w^ere  gain  to  me,  thofe  I  counted  lofs  for  Chrift. 
Yea,  doubtlefs,  and  I  count  all  things  but  lols  for 
the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  cf  Chrift  Jefu« 


52  Notes  en  the  Parables, 

my  Lord  ;  for  whom  I  have  fufFered  the  lofs  of 
all  things,  and  do  count  them  but  dung,  that  I 
may  win  Chrift,  and  be  found  in  him,  not  having 
iiiine  own  righteoufnefs,  which  is  of  the  law,  but 
that  Vv'hich  is  through  the  faith  of  Chrift,  the 
righteoufnefs  which  is  of  God  by  faith.'*  In  the 
account,  which  the  experienced  apoule  gives  us, 
we  learn  that  it  was  necelTary  for  him  to  fuffer 
the  lofs  of  his  legal  hope,  in  order  to  enjoy  that 
hope  wliich  was  infinitely  more  valuable.  Let  us 
in  the  next  place  afk^,  whether  Vv^e  have  fuilicient 
evidence  to  prove,  beyond  a  reafonable  doubt, 
that  the  bkfied  Saviour  of  firmers  v/ill  be  lefs  kind 
to  fome  body  die.  than  he  was  to  that  perfecuting 
Saul. 

The  reader  will  undoubtedly  notice,  that  in 
ev^ery  form  in  which  |:?he  common  doctrine  appears^ 
it  v/cars  the  character  of  unmercifulnefs,  which 
character  is  direqlly  contrary  to  the  charadcr  of 
the  merciful  Jefus.  When  the  prodigal  fon  left 
his  father's  houfe,  his  hopes  or  pleafure  intoxicat- 
ed his  youthful  inind,  his  heart  palpitated  for^ 
gratifications  vvhiLii  he  did  not  fo  much  as  dream 
would  either  ruin  his  fortune  or  become  infipid^ 
But  experience  taught  him  late,  \vhat  early  admo- 
rii.ion  could  not  imprefs,  and  he  found  himfeif  in 
a  itate  of  wretched  dependance,  v/ithout  pov/er  or 
means  l:o  retrieve  a  fortune  foolilhly  fpent.  In 
this  diftreiTed  condition,  compelled  by  hunger,  he 
frames  a  rcfolution  in  w^hich  there  w^as  great  hu- 
mility indeed,  but  by  no.means  a  juft  eftimation 
of  the  mode  in  v/hich  his  wants  w^ere  finally  to  be 
fupplied.  He  hoped  to  be  blefied  with  bread  in 
his  father's  houfe,  but  expected  to  have  it  for  his 
juft  hire.  The  ground  of  his  hope  was  by  no 
means  fupported  by  the  father^  but  the  blefTing 


l^otes  on  the  Parables.  53, 

was  granted  in  rich  abundance,  from  the  fatherly 
love  of  which  he  had  been  ignorant. 

Such  are  the  inftances  which  the  fcriptures  give 
of  the  falfe  hopes  of  God's  alienated  children,  and 
of  his  divine  mercy  as  a  never  failing  fecurity  after 
all  creature  means  have  failed.  The  whole  of  the 
107th  Pfalm  is  occupied  with  thofe  inilances,  with 
a  fentence  of  which  I  clofe  this  fubjecl.  '*  Such 
as  fit  in  darknefs,  and  in  tlie  fhadow  of  death,  be- 
ing bound  in  ailliclion  and  iron,  becaufe  they  re- 
belled againll  the  words  of  God,  and  contemned 
the  counfel  of  the  Moll  High  ;  therefore,  he 
brought  down  their  heart  with  labor  ;  they  fell 
down,  and  there  was  none  to  help.  Then  they 
cried  unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble,  and  he  flived 
them  out  of  their  diftreffes.     He  brouirht   them 

o 

out  of  darknefs  and  the  fliadow  of  death,  and 
brake  their  bands  in  funder.  Oh,  that  m.en  would 
praife  the  Lord  for  his  goodnefs,  and  for  his  won- 
derful w'orks  to  the  children  of  men." 


Pr^RiVBLE  VIIL 
**  And  Jcfus  fiid  unto  ihero,   C«a   ihe  children  of  the  bride- 
eharaber  TOOUrn  as  lorg  as  ihe  bridfgrccm   is   with   ihem  ? 
but  the  days  will  coir.e  when  the  bridegroom  fhail  be  taken 
from  them,  and  then  iLail  they  fad."  Mat.  ix.  15. 

THE  Saviour  fpake  ihefe  words  to  the  difci- 
pies  of  John,  who  afked  him  the  reafon  why  his 
difciples  did  not  faft,  as  they  and  the  pharifees 
failed  oft. 

In  this  part  of  the  anfvver  we  find  matter  for 
the  following  obfervations : 

ift.  By  bridegroom,  I  underiiand  Chrift  himfelf. 

2d.  By  bride,  the  heavenly  jerufalem,  which  ii. 
called  the  bridcy  the  Lamb's  wife. 


54  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

3d.' By  bride-chamber  is  intended  that  pavlliorr 
of  lafety  provided  by  grace. 

4th.  Ihe  children  of  the  bride  chamber  are 
thofe,  who,  in  their  underftanding,  have  travelled 
on  beyond  the  righteoufnefs  of  the  fcribcs  and 
pharifees,  have  even  left  John,  the  forerunner  of 
Jefus,  and  have,  in  reality,  found  him  of  whom 
Mofes  and  the  prophets  did  write. 

5.  The  dear  Mediator,  the  devoted  lin  offering, 
points  forw.ird  to  that  awful  period  when  he 
Ihould  be  taken  from  all  the  living,  die  the  death 
ot  deaths  for  man  ;  when  a  gloom  like  the  fliades 
of  night  fliould  be  diftendcd  over  all  the  land ; 
when  the  moil  valiant  of  the  bride- chamber  fliould 
feel  his  courage  give  way,  and  fall  before  the  dark 
powers  of  temptation  ;  when  the  demonian  powers 
of  darknefs  fiiould  feem  to  riot  in  fport  of  the  Sen 
of  Go/),  mocking  the  agonies  of  a  finlefs  confecrat- 
cd  foul  made  an  offering  for  fm  !  '1  his  was  a  time 
for  the  difciples  of  Jefus  to  fail  indeed. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

In  the  Gift  of  If^iiiih  at  the  loth  verfe,  the  Sa- 
viour is  r'e^prefented  as  being  clothed  with  the  gar- 
ments of  ialvation,  and  covered  with  the  robe  of 
righteoufnefs,  as  a  bridegroom  decketh  himfelf 
with  ornaments.  In  the  62d  chapter  at  the  5th 
verfe,  he  is  reprefented  as  rejoicing  over  his  bride. 
St.  John  iii.  29.  "He  that  hath  the  bride  is  the 
bridegroom;  but  the  frieiid  of  the  bridegroom 
which  iVandeth  and  heareth  him,  rejoiceth  greatly 
becauie  of  the  bridegroom's  voice." 

The  bride  the  Lamb's  wife,  or  the  New  Jerufa- 
lem,  .is  the  fame  as  the  covenant  of  gofpcL  mercy, 
as  may  be  feen  from  the  following  fcriptui'es.  Gal. . 
iy.  22,  ^cc.  •*  Fur  it  is  written  tijat  Abraham  had 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  SS 

two  fons  ;  the  one  by  a  bond-maid,  the  other  by 
a  free  woman.     But   he  who   was  of  the   bond 
woman  was  born  after  the  flefh  ;  but  he  of  the 
free  woman  was  by  promife.     Which  things  ^re 
an  allegory  ;  for  thefe  are  the  two  covenants ;  the 
one  from  the  mount  Sinai,  which  gendereth  to 
bondage,  which  is  Agar.     For  this  Agar  is  mount 
Sinai  in  Arabia,  and  anfwereth  to  Jerufalem  which 
now  is,  and  is  in  bondage  with  her  children.    But 
Jerudilem  which  is  above  is  free,  which  is  the  mo- 
ther uf  us  all.      For  it  is   written,    rejoice,   thou 
barren  that  beared  not,  break  forth  and  cry  thou 
that  travaileft  not :    for  the  dcfolate   hath    many 
more  children  than  (lie  which  hath  an  hulband.'* 
The  apoille  here  calls  Sarah  one  of  the  covenants, 
which  he  calls  Jerufcilem  which   is  above,  who   is 
both  free  and  the  mother  of  us  all.     His  reference 
to   the  words  of  liaiah   in  chap,   liv,  i,&c.  very 
cleady  correcl:s  the  opinion  that  the  prophet  fpake 
to  the  gentile  church  of  believers,  w^hen   he   faid, 
"  Sins:,  O  barren,"  kz.   for  it  is  evident  that  the 
apofile  appropriates  this  addrefs  to  the  covenant 
reprefented  by  Sarah.     And  indeed  the  prophet 
himfelf  likewife  corrects  the  common  opinion,  for 
he  fays  to  this  barren,  defolate  one,  ''Enlarge  the 
place  (if  thy  tent,  and  let  them  ftretch    forth   the 
curtains  of  their  habitations  :  fpare  not,  lengthen 
thy  cords  and  ftrengthen  thy  ftakes,  for  thou  {halt 
break  forth  on  the   right   hand  and  on  the  left  j 
and  thy  feed  fhill  inherit   the   gentiles.*'     If  the 
prophet  were  addreiling  the  gentiles,  he  would  not 
have  told  the  gentile  church  that  her  feed  fhould 
inherit  the  gentiles.     But  if  he  were   addrefling 
the  gofpel  covenant  in  the  character  of  one  who 
was  dcfolate  and  forlliken,  he  might  with  propriety 
fay  that  her  feed,  or  fon,  who  is  Chrift,  ihould  in- 


5 6  'Notes  on  the  Parables. 

herit  the  gentiles  ;  which  is  confiilent  with  the 
fcripture  which  £nth,  "  Afk  of  me  and  I  fliall  give 
thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  tlic 
litter Bioft  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  poflfefnon.'* 


PARABLE  IX. 

*•  No  mtn  pmtcth  a  piece  of  new  cloth  unto  an  old  garment  v 
for  that  which  i»  pot  in  to  fill  it  up  takelh  from  the  garment, 
arvd  the  rent  ii  ffiade  wnrfe.""  Mat.  ix.  \6. 

CHRIST  continues  his  aniwer  to  the  difeiples 
of  John,,  and  in  this  part  of  his  anfwer  we  find 
matter  for  the  following  notes  : 

lit.  That  the  lav^,  or  legal  righteoufnefs,  which 
they  w^ere  endeavoring  to  acquire,  was  a  garment 
extremely  incomplete,  he  reprefented  by  an  old 
garment,  worn  to  pieces  and  in  need  of  mending* 

2d.  That  the  divine  righteoufnefs,  wliereby  he 
ihould  fulfil  the  law,  in  which  righteoufnefs  alone 
man  could  be  juilified,  ftood  in  comparifon  to  the 
other  as  new  cloth  to  an  old  ganuent. 

3d.  That  as  a  piece  of  nev/  cloth  put  unto  an  old 
garm.ent  would  take  from  the  garment,  whereby 
the  rent  would  be  made  worfe  \  fo  thofe  who^ 
Ihould  ufe  the  righteoufnefs  of  the  Lord  our  righ- 
teoufnefs only  to  patch  their  own,  mixing  a  little 
of  the  righteoufnefs  of  Chrifi:  with  a  great  deal  of 
failing,  humility,  and  righteoufnefs  of  their  own, 
would  be  in  a  w^orfe  fituation  than  when  Handing, 
fimply  in  the  law  character,  to  which  circumftance 
I  jQiali  elfewhere  allude. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

We  have  already  feen  that  St.  Paul  was  under 
the  neceflity  of  giving  up  all  his  hope  and  depend- 
auce  for  juftification  by  the  works  of  the  law,  the 


l>!oies  on  the  Parables,  57 

rcafon  of  which  we  may  coniider  as  an  illuftration, 
in  part,  of  the  foregoing  fubject. 

ift.  rhe  Jaw  could  not  reafonably  be  expected 
to  anfwer  a  purpofe  for  which  it  was  not  given  ; 
and  it  is  evident,  that  it  was  not  given  for  the  pur- 
pofe of  giving  life,  or  that  mankind  Ihouki  ob- 
tain juftiiication  by  it.  See  G?.L  iii.  21.  "Is  the 
law  then  againft  the  promifes  of  God  ?  God  for- 
bid :  for  if  there  had  been  a  law  given,  which 
could  have  given  life,  verily  righlcouihefs  flioulJ 
have  been  by  the  lav*^/'  Rom.  iii.  20.  '*  There- 
fore by  the  deeds  of  the  law  thert-  fiiall  no  flcfli  be 
juftificd  in  his  light  :  for  by  the  law  is  the  know- 
ledge (*f  fin." 

2d.  If  tiic  nuniilration  of  the  law  had  been  juf- 
tification  and  life,  it  mutt  have  taken  the  ground 
of  the  gofpel  miniftration,  and  rendered  the  crofs 
vain.  6ee  Gal.  ii.  21.  ''I  do  not  fruftrate  the 
grace  of  God,  for  if  righieoufnefs  came  by  the 
lav/,  then  Chriil  is  dead  in  vain.'*  Gal.  iii.  18. 
"  For  if  the  inheritance  be  of  the  law,  it  is  no 
more  of  promife  ;  but  God  gave  it  to  Abraham 
by  promife. 

3d.  As  the  law  entered  becaufe  of  tranfgreffion, 
and  that  the  offence  might  abound,  it  worked 
wrath,  and  v/as  a  miniflration  of  death.  Gal.  iii. 
19.  "  Wherefore  then  ferveth  the  law  ?  it  was  ad- 
ded becaufe  of  tranfgreflion,  till  the  feed  fhould 
come  to  whom  the  promife  was  made."  Rom.  \\\ 
14.  15.  "  For  if  they  which  are  of  the  law  be 
heirs,  faith  is  made  void,  and  the  promife  made  of 
none  effect.  Becaufe  the  law  worketh  wrath  ;  for 
where  no  law  is,  there  is  no  tranfgreffion."  2d. 
Cor.  iii.  7,  8.  "  But  if  the  miniflration  of  death, 
written  and  engraven  in  ftones,  was  glorious,  fo 
that  the  children  gf  Ifrael  CQuId  not  ftedfallly  be- 


5  5  Notes  on  the  Parables^ 

hold  the  face  of  Mofes  for  the  glory  of  his  coun- 
tenance ;  which  glory  was  to  be  done  away  ;  how 
fhall  not  the  miniftration  of  the  fpirit  be  rather 
glorious  r'^ 

4th.  From  the  preceding  confiderations,  it  is 
reafonable  that  we  draw  the  following  conclufion. 
If  the  law  was  a  miniftration  of  death,  and  could 
not  give  life,  then  furely  it  does  not  come  within 
its  province  to  deprive  us  of  a  life  which  it  had  no 
power  to  give.  Hence  the  apoftle's  argument. 
Gal.  iii.  1 7.  "  And  this  I  fay,  that  the  covenant 
that  was  confirmed  before  of  God  in  Chrift,  the 
law,  which  was  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  af- 
ter, cannot  difannul,  that  it  fliould  make  the  prom- 
ife  of  none  efFecl." 

The  righteoufnefs  of  faith  with  which  the  ran- 
fom.ed  church  of  Chrift  is  clothed  and  juftified,  is 
reprcfented  by  fine  linen  clean  and  white  ;  by 
WHITE  ROBES,  clothing  of  wrought  gold,  a  rai- 
ment OF  needle  work.  See  Rev.  xix.  8.  "  And 
to  her  it  was  granted  that  fhe  fhould  be  arrayed  in 
fine  linen,  clean  and  white  ;  for  the  fine  linen  is 
the  righteoufnefs  of  founts/'  iii.  5,  "He  that  ovei'- 
cometh,  the  fame  ihall  be  clothed  in  white  rai- 
ment." Pfalm  xlv.  iT^.  14.  "  The  king's  daughter 
is  al]  glorious  within";  her  clothing  is  of  wrought 
gold.  She  ihall  be  brou*ght  unto  the  king  in  rai- 
ment of  needle  work."  This  righteoufnefs  of  God 
is  the  free  gift  of  his  grace,  and  is  manifefted  for 
the  juftification  of  the  finner  unto  life.  See  Rom* 
iii.  21.  £2.  &c.  "  But  now  the  righteoufnefs  of  God 
without  the  law  is  manifefted,  being  witneiTed  by 
the  law  and  the  prophets ;  even  the  righteoufnefs 
of  God,  which  is  by  faith  of  Jefus  Chrift  unto  all, 
and  upon  all  them  that  beUeve  ;  for  there  is  no 
difference  j  for  all  have  finned,  and  come  fliort  of 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  5f 

the  glory  of  God  ;  be'mg  juilified   freely  by   his 
grace,"  &c. 

Where  is  boafling,  then  ?  It  is  excluded.  By 
what  law  ?  Of  works  ?  No,  but  by  the  law  of 
faith. 

PARABLE  X. 
<*  Neither  do  men  put  new  wine  into  old  bottles  :  elfe  the  bot- 
tles break,  and  the  wine  runneth  out,  aad  the  bottles  pcrifh  : 
but  they  put  new  wine  into  new  bottles,  and  both  are  prc- 
ferved."  Mat.  ix.  17. 

WITH  thefc  words  did  Jefus  clofe  his  anfwer 
to  the  difciples  of  John.  On  this  part  of  his  an- 
fwer we  find  matter  for  the  following  notes  : 

I  ft.  The  difciples  of  John  and  the  Pharifees 
{landing  in  the  law,  or  legal  rightcoufnefs,  not  be* 
ing  made  new  by  faith  in  Ckrift,  are  reprefented 
by  old  bottles. 

2d.  That,  ftanding  in  that  character,  they  were 
no  more  fit  to  receive  the  fpirit  of  the  gefpel,  than 
old  bottles  were  to  receive  new  wine. 

3d.  That,  by  becoming  new  creatures  by  the  all 
renovating  power  of  him  w^ho  faith,  Behold,  I 
make  all  things  new,  they  might  be  prepared  meet 
vefTels  to  receive  the  wine  of  Chrift's  kingdom, 
even  the  fpirit  of  divine  animation  which  cheereth 
the  heart  of  God  and  man. 

ILLUSTRATION. 
The  do6lrine  and  neceility  of  the  new  birth  is 
rendered  plain  and  evident  by  the  following  fcrip- 
tures.  St.  John  iii.  3.  "Jefus  anfwered  and  faid  un- 
to him,  verily,  verily,  I  fay  unto  thee,  except  a 
man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  fee  the  kingdom  of 
God."  Verfe  5,  "  Jefus  anfwered,  verily,  verily, 
I  fay  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born  of  water. 


6o  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannof  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God."  That  this  new  birth  is  a  work  not 
of  the  will  nor  power  of  the  finner,  but  of  the 
fpirit  of  God,  is  not  only  feen  by  the  above  quo- 
tation, but  alfo  fully  proved  by  the  following.  St. 
John  i.  13.  "  Which  were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor 
of  the  will  of  the  flefh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but 
of  God."  Faith,  which  is  the  medium  through 
which  this  grace  is  communicated  and  wrought 
in  the  foul,  is^alfo  the  gift  and  work  of  God. 
Eph.  ii.  8,9.  "  For  by  grace  are  ye  faved  through 
faith,  and  that  not  of  yourfelvis  ;  it  is  the  gift  of 
God  :  not  of  works,  left  any  man  fliould  boaft." 
2d  Thes.  i.  II.  "Wherefore  alfo  we  pray  always 
for  you,  that  our  God  would  count  you  worthy  of 
his  calling,  and  fulfil  all  the  good  pleafure  of  his 
goodnefs,  and  the  work  of  faith  with  power." 
The  neceility  of  the  new  birth  is  acknowledged  by 
Chriftian  profeffors  in  general,  but,  at  the  fame 
time,  placed  on  ground  \vhich  renders  it  afcribablc 
to  the  wVA  of  the  creature,  and  thereby  rendered 
precarious  and  uncertain.  By  fo  doing,  the  necef- 
lity  of  the  new  birth  has  been  ufed  as  an  argument 
to  prove  that  mankind,  in  general,  will  be  forever 
excluded  from  the  kingdom  of  God,  on  the  fuppo- 
fition  that  all  men  v*dll  never  be  born  again.  I  fay 
on  the  SUPPOSITION,  for  furely  there  is  no  fcrip- 
ture  authority  to  prove  that  all  men  will  not  be 
born  again. 

It  w^ould  feem  more  reafonable  to  argue,  from 
the  NECESSITY  of  the  new  birth,  as  follows  : 

ift.  As  it  is  impoilible  for  any  one  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  except  he  be  born  of  the  wa- 
ter and  of  the  fpirit,  if  it  were  the  wall  of  God  that 
all  men  fhould  be  faved,  it  muft  then  be  his  will 
that  all  men  fliould  be  born  again. 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  6i 

sd.  As  "has  been  fliown,  this  being  born  again 
is  of  the  will  of  God,  and  not  of  the  will  of  man. 
Therefore  there  can  be  no  more  uncertainty,  as  to 
the  event,  than  there  is  of  the  accomplifliment  of 
the  will  of  God,  which  St.  Paul  fays,  is,  that  all 
men  fliould  be  faved,  and  come  unto  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth. 

3d.  No  reafon  can  be  rendered  why  God  fiioald 
not  ufe  all  the  means  which  he  fees  neccflary  for 
the  accompUfhmcnt  of  his  will. 

4th.  From  the  foregoing  confiderations  it  is 
reafonable  to  conclude  that  the  neceflity  of  the 
new  birth  ought  to  be  ufed  as  evidence  to 
prove  its  certainty;  for  if  it  be  a  matter  of  infi- 
nite importance,  and  efFc6lible  only  by  the  will  of 
God,  to  argue  that  it  will  not  be  accompliflicd,  is 
as  unfavorable  to  the  divine  charrvclcr  as  it  is  inju- 
rious to  mankind. 


PARABLE  XL 

"**  A  bruifc^  reed  (hall  he  not  bieak,  and  fmoUng  flax,  fhill  he 
not  quench,  liil  he  fend  forth  jndgmcRt  unto  viflory." 

Mat.  xii.  20. 

ST.  MATTHEW  having  given  an  account  of 
fome  precautions  which  Chriil  made  ufe  of  in  or- 
der that  the  people  at  large  might  not  know  him, 
.quotes  the  above  pailage  from  liaiah,  as  being  tul- 
iiiled  by  Chrift.     8ee  If^iah  xlii.  i,  kc. 

The  houfe  of  Ifrael  is  here  reprefented  by 
the  fimilituue  of  a  bruifed  reed,  by  which  is  meanc 
the  low  condition  in  which  Clirift  found  it  when 
he  came.  The  prophet  looked  forward  from  his 
day,  and  beholding  the  houfe  of  Ifrael  in  a  low 
ftate  of  fcrvitude,  reprefented  it  by  a  bruifed  rccd, 
F 


62  NofL*s  Of:  I  he  Parables, 

and  then  prophelies  of  the  Mefliah  and  his  coming, 
and  faid  he  would  not  break  what  little  ftrength 
it  retained,  which  was  then  only  in  the  fceptre  of 
Judah,  or  flaff\  or  reed  of  his  tribeftiip,  until  he 
had  fulfilled  the  law  and  made  it  honorable,  which 
I  underfland  by  his  fending  forth  judgment  unto 
victory.  The  continuance  of  Judah's  fceptre  until 
the  coming  of  Shiloh,  was  fpoken  of  by  Jacob,  fee 
Gen.  xlix.  lo.  It  was  to  continue  until  Shiloh 
fhould  come,  after  which  it  was  broken  :  Obferve, 
the  bruifcd  reed  was  not  to  be  broken,  nor  the 
fmoking  flax  quenched,  until  judgment  was  fcnt 
forth  unto  viclory,  which  intimates  that  the  reed 
would  then  be  broken  and  the  flax  quenched. 
Flax  is  extremely  combuftible,  and  quickly  con- 
famed  by  fire,  and  as  it  fmokes  a  little  after  the 
fire  has  pafi'ed  it,  before  it  is  entirely  gone,  fo  the 
houfe  of  ifrael  is  reprefented  as  almoft  the  whole 
of  its  flrength  exhauiled,  and  dying  like  the  wick 
of  a  candle  after  the  blaze  is  extinguiflied,  but 
that  it  fliould  not  be  entirely  quenched  until 
righteoufnefs  fhould  gain  the  victory  over  fln  ; 
then  was  Judah's  fceptre  broken,  and  the  light, 
flrength  and  glory  of  the  legal  difpenfation  van- 
ifhed  forever. 

ILLUSTRATION. 
It  is  remarkable  that  notwithftanding  the  low 
condition  of  the  Jews,  and  their  fervitude  under 
the  Roman  yoke,  yet  they  were  prefer ved,  and 
retained  their  eccleflaftical  order  until  they  had  an 
opportunity  to  exercife  that  power  in  fulfilling 
the  fcripture  prophecies  concerning  the  Mefliah. 
Had  the  fceptre  departed  from  Judah,  or  a  law- 
giver from  between  his  feet,  before  Shiloh  come, 
and  that  people  had  been  broken  up  and  difperfed 
as  they  were  immediately  afterwards,  they  would 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  63 

riot  have  been  in  a  fituation  to  fulfil  all  that  the 
prophets  had  written  concerning  Chrlft  ;  they 
could  not  have  faid.  We  have  a  iaw^  and  by  our  laio 
he  ought  to  die, 

IF  we  duly  confidcr  that  all  the  other  tribes  of 
the  children  of  Ifrael  had  become  extinct  before 
the  coming  of  Shiloh,  and  even  that  of  Judah  v\ms 
reduced  to  contemptible  weaknefs^  yet  prcierved 
for  the  fulfilment  of  Jacob's  prophecy,  and  the 
many  other  prophecies  concerning  the  Mediah,  it 
mud  operate  as  a  very  forcible  argument  in  favor 
of  the  divinity  of  rhofe  fcriptures  which  were  fo 
remarkably  fulfilled.  What  power  of  human 
wifdom,  can  we  reafonably  fuppofe,  could  difcover 
ta  the*  dying  patriarch  that  Judah  would  be  the 
only  furviving  tribe,  and  that  he  would  furvivc 
until  the  coming  of  Shiloh  ?  If  we  attribute  this 
to  the  fagacity  of  human  wifdom,  with  a  defign 
to  avoid  the  idea  of  divine  infpiration,  we  only 
defeat  our  object,  by  giving  to  human  wifdom 
that  prefcience  which  amounts  to  as  much  as  di- 
vine infpiration. 


PARABLE  XII. 

«*  When  the  unclean   fpirit  is  gone  out  of  a  man,  he  waikch 

through  dry  places,  feeking  reft,  and   fioding  none.     Then 

he  faith,  I  will  return  into  my  houfe  from  whence  I  cariie 

out:  and  when  he  is  come,  he  findeth  it  empty,  fwept  and 

garnifiied.     Then  goeth  he,  and  takcth  with  hirofelf  feven 

other  fpirits  more  wick-d  than  himfeif,  and  they   enter    in 

and  dwell  there  :  and    the   laft    ftate  of  that  man  is  worfs 

thanthefiid.     Even  fo  (hall   it   be  alfo   unto  this   wicked 

generation.  Mat.  xii.  43,  44,  45. 

ift.  OUR  Saviour  in  the  above  pafTage  repre- 

fents  the  then  prefent  generation  of  the  houfe  of 

Ifrael  by  a  man  who  had  an  unclean  fpiric. 


^4  T^oies  on  the  Parables. 

2d.  He  fliows  that  the  unclean  fpirit  which  theyr 
were  polieired  of,  at  his  coming  would  feem  to  be 
cafl:  out,  but  that  feven  evil  fpirits  would  fucceed: 
and  Hand  in  the  room  of  one. 

3d.  He  ihows  that,  that  generation  would  not 
find  the  reft  which  remalneth  for  the  people  o£: 
God,  on  account  of  their  unbelief. 

4th,  He  fhov^s  that  they  would  enter  into  the 
old  houfe  of  the  law,  or  covenant  of  works,  whick- 
they  would  find  firil  empty,   as   Chrift   informed 
them  that  their  hoiife  iliould  be  left  unto   them 
defolate,  ^-c. 

5th.  Swept  and  gamiilied,  that  is,  made  ready, 
for  v'heir  entrance;  as  they  were  not  acquainted 
with  the  gofpel,  they  would  attempt  fafety  in  the- 
covenant  of  works,  in  which  fituation  they  are 
v/orfe  than  before,  feven  times  ;  which  circum- 
ftance  will  be  particularly  defcribed  in  notes  on; 
Luke  xvi.  lail  paragraph. 

ILLUSTRATION. 
It  13  generally  underftood  that  the  Saviour- 
pointed  to  a  future  ftate  of  cndiefs  puniflimcnt, 
when  he  faid,  "  the  laft  ftate  of  that  man  \^ 
worfe  til  an  the  (iril.  Even  lo  faall  it  be  unto  this^ 
wicked  gcneralion.'*  1  his  is  fappofing  that  Chrift, 
ut  that  time.  JudQ;<fd  and  condemned  that  genera- 
tion to  a  ftaie  of  endlcfs  mife^y.  Yet  this  fame 
divine  teacher  fays,  "  For  God  fent  not  his  Son 
into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world  ;  but  that 
the  world  through  him  might  be  faved.'*  It  is 
evident  that  if  e:hrift  condemned  that  generation 
in  the  fenfe  above  ftated,  he  condemned  it  fo  as  to 
render  it  impofllble  for  him  to  do  what  God  fent 
him  to  do,  namely,  to  save,  and  not  condemn. 
The  miftake  which  has  been  made  by   fuppofing 


Notes  m  the  Parables,  6^ 

that  the  Saviour  alluded  to  a  future  flate  of  end- 
lefs  mifery,  in  thofe  paiTa^cs  where  he  fpeaks  of 
the  fituation  into  which  tlie  Jews  would  be  imme- 
diately brought,  has  given  a  general  character  to 
the  preaching  of  the  chriflian  clergy,  which  is  very- 
different  from  the  miniftry  of  reconciliation. 
There  is  a  paff.ige  in  the  i  ^th  of  St.  Luke,  which 
has  been  made  frequent  ufe  of  in  the  way  of  the 
above  named  miflakc,  and  if  it  were  not  for  the 
fpecial  demands  of  chriftian  charity,  it  would  be 
next  to  impoihble  to  believe  thofe  fincere  who  fo 
mifapply  that  text.  It  reads  as  follows  :  "  O  Je- 
rufalem,  Jerufalem,  which  killeft  the  prophets,  and 
floneft  them  that  are  .fent  unto  thee  ;  how  often 
would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  as  a 
hen  doth  gather  her  brood  under  her  wings,  and 
ye  would  not  !  Behold,  your  houfe  is  left  unto 
you  dcfolate  :"  At  this  colon  it  is  cuftomary  to 
Hop  (hort,  and  apply  the  text  to  the  eternal  de- 
ftruclion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerufalem,  accom- 
panying the  application  with  an  animadverfion  on 
the  conduct  of  the  Jews,  by  which  they  juflly 
merited  fuch  puniffiment.  However,  the  conclu- 
fion  of  the  verfe  fully  refutes  fuch  an  application, 
and  renders  thofe  who  make  the  miftake  as  dcfti- 
tute  of  an  excufe,  at  leaft,  as  the  Jews  were  who 
denied  Chrift.  See  the  text  :  "  And  verily  i  fay 
unto  y(ju,  ye  (liall  not  fee  me,  until  the  time  come 
when  ye  (hall  fay,  bleffed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord."  This  precious  prophecy,  be- 
caufe  it  contains  a  declaration  of  mercy  to  the 
blinded  houfe  of  ifrael,  is  as  much  neglecl:ed  by 
teachers  in  general,  as  the  Saviour  was  by  thofe 
to  whom  this  merciful  prophecy  was  fpoken.  The 
prayer  of  our  Saviour  on  the  crofs  Is  a  complete 
refutation  of  all  the  argum.ents  which  are  made 
F   2 


^(>  Notes  on  tJye  Parables. 

ufe  of  to  prove  the  fins  of  the  Jews,  in  rejeding 
Chriil,  UNPARDONABLE,  as  is  generally  reprelented. 
*' Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do/'^  Wiio  were  thofe  who  knew  not  what, 
they  did  ?  See  the  anfwer  in  Acls  xiii.  27,  28.  29. 
''For  they  that  dwell  at  Jerufalem,  and  their  ru- 
lers, becaufe  they  knew  him  not,  nor  yet  the  voices- 
of  the  prophets  which  are  read  every  fabbath  day, 
they  have  fulfilled  them  in  condemning  him* 
And  though  they  found  no  caufe  of  death  in  him, 
yet  defired  they  Pilate  that  he  fhould  be  flaim 
And  when  they  had  fulfilled  all  that  w^as  written 
of  him,  they  took  him  down  from  the  tree,  and 
laid  him  in  a  fepulchre/' 

If  the  Saviour  had  before  judged  thofe  people  to 
an  endlefs  ftate  of  punifliment,  or  had  reprefented 
their  fms  as  unpardonable^  where  is  the  propriety  of' 
his  praying  to  his  father,  in  the  hour  of  his  death, 
to  forgive  them  ?  Here  was  a  glorious  difplay  of 
the  power  of  that  love  which  triumphed  over  fin 
and  death  in  the  perfon  of  Jefus.     How  contrary 
is  it  to  the  very  fpirit   of  the   gofpel,  to  fuppofe 
that  the  fin  of  the  Jev/s  triumphed  over  the  love 
of  him  who  died  for  then?,  and  prayed  his  father- 
to  forgive  them  ?  Can  we  reafonably  fuppofe  that 
this  prayer  was  contrary  to  the  v/ill  of  God  in  the. 
plan  of  grace?  Will  it  do  to  conclude  that  Jefus. 
made  this  prayer  without  faith  ?  The  plain  fact  is, 
the  common  opinion  makes  the   death   of  Chrift. 
void,  makes  his  prayer  void,  makes  his  faith  void,  ^ 
and,  in  a  word,  makes  his  gofpel  void.     Hence  it 
is  evident   that  we   ought   to  be  cautious  not  to 
explain  the  fcriptures  in  fuch  a  way  as  to  confound 
them,  or  to  contradict  the   grand   defign   of  the 
gofpel  difpenfation.     We  ought  to  remem.ber  and^ 
k?ep  it  in  mind,   that- God  will  uever  fuffer  an):^ 


Notes  on  ihc  Parables^  67 

oppofition   to  his  gofpel,  to  defeat  his  own   plan. 


of  divine  grace. 


PARABLE  XilL 

**  Another  pirabl-^  put  he  forth  unto  them,  f^yii^g,  The  king, 
dom  cf  heaven  is  likened  unto  a  man  which  Hved  good 
feed  in  his  field  ;  but  while  men  il^pt,  his  eneir.y  came  zvA 
fowed  tares  among  ihe  wheat,  af^.d  vrent  his  way.  But  vhcn 
the  bhde  -^'as  fpiur-g  up,  -aix^  brought  forth  fruit,  then, 
appeared  ll.e  lares  alfo.  So  the  fervants  cf  the  houfeholder 
came,  and  f^iid  ur.to  him,  Sir,  didft  not  thou  fov?  good  feed 
in  thy  field  ?  from  whence  then  huih  it  tares  ?  He  f^id  unto 
them,  an  enemy  !)  iih  done  this.  The  Icrvants  iM  unto 
hinra,  Wilt  thou  then  t!m  we  go  and  gather  them  up?  But 
he  faid,  Nay  ;  left  while  ye  gaihcr  up  the  tares,  ye  root  up 
alfo  the  wheat  .  ith  them.  Let  both  grow  together  until  the 
harvell,  and  in  the  lime  of  harve.'i  I  will  fiy  to  the  reapers, 
G4ther  ye  tcgeth^-r  fiitl  the  tares,  and  bind  ihem  in  bundL'S 
10  bum  thein.,}  but  g^/.her  the  wheat  into  rr:y  barn.'* 

Mat.  xiii.  24,  25,  26,  27,  28,  29    30. 

THE  reader,  by  cafting  an  eye  on  the  preced- 
ing paragraphs  of  this  chapter,  will  find  the  above 
text  introduced  by  an  explanation  of  a  preceding 
parable,  in  which  a  fower  is  reprefented  fowing 
his  feed  ;  the  feed  falling  in  diiTercnt  fituations 
and  on  different  grounds,  &c.  Different  effecls 
were  the  confequence,  as  is  ffiown  in  the  accurate 
explanation.  Chrift  then  goes  on  to  give  further 
intimations  of  what  would  happen,  or  come  to 
pafs,  likening  his  kingdom,  in  the  gofpel  difpen- 
lation,  as  follov/s  :  ill.  Himfeif,  a  fower  of  good 
feed.  2d.  The  word  of  the  kingdom,  by  good 
feed  that  was  fown.  3d.  Man  to  whom  the  gof- 
gel  was  preached,  by  a  fields  whofe  owner  is  Chrift. 


6S  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

4th.  He  forcflieweth  a  declenfion  in  the  religion 
which  he  was  introducing,  even  a  Hate  of  careleis^ 
nefs  and  inattention,  by  men  flceping.  .  5th.  The 
introduction  of  falle  doctrines  into  the  church,  is 
fignified  by  an  enemy's  fbwing  tares  among  wheat. 
6th.  He  lliows  that  falfehood  would  be  mixed 
with  truth,  in  the  underftandings  of  chriftians,  by 
the  tares  appearing  among  the  wheat.  7th.  Ihe 
defire  of  profellbrs  of  purging  falfe  ideas  and  no- 
tions out  of  the  church,  is  reprefented  by  fervants 
afking  leave  to  gather  tares  from  among  wheat. 
8th.  The  unfkilfulnefs  of  thofe  profeflbrs,  even  all 
of  thofe  who  vainly  fancy  themfelves  capable  of 
purging  Chriflendom  of  errors,  is  fliown  in  the 
anfwer  to  the  fervants,  "  Nay  ;  left  while  ye  gather 
up  the  tares,  ye  root  up  alfo  the  w^heat  with  them." 
9th.  Ihat  it  was  the  w^ll  of  the  Saviour  that  falfe 
doctrines  fliould  be  imbibed  until  their  fruits 
fhould  come  to  maturity,  is  fhov/n  in  that  he  faitb, 
'•  Let  both  grow  together  until  the  time  of  har- 
veft."  loth.  The  clofe  of  the  mediatorial  king- 
dom is  reprefented  by  a  harveft,  or  (as  in  the  ex- 
planation of  this  parable  by  Chriit  himfelf)  the 
end  of  the  world  ;  the  word  world  having  the 
fame  fignification  as  that  of  kingdom  in  the  text, 
nth.  'An  all  glorious  manifeftation  of  the  gofpel 
of  reconciliation  in  its  divine  purity  through  the 
miniftry  of  the  fervants  of  the  Lord,  is  reprefent- 
ed by  reapers  fent  forth,  which  reapers,  or  angels, 
(as  in  the  explanation)  fignify  to  us  the  faithful 
laborers  whom  the  Lord  of  the  harveft  will  fend 
forth  into  his  plenteous  harveft.  I  view  them  by 
an  eye  of  faith  ;  my  eyes  are  greatly  fatisfied,  and 
my  heart  leapeth  for  joy  :  O  my  God,  make  me 
more  like  them.  The  time  is  coming,  w^hen  the 
Lord  will  make  his  angels  meffengers,  and  his 


Nol€s  on  the  Parables:  6'f 

mmifters  a  flaming  fire  indeed ;  when  Zion's 
watchmen  lliall  fee  eye  to  eye ;  and  to  rhem  fliall 
be  gwen  power  to  bind  error  with  the  flrong  cords 
of  argument,  and  to  burn  it  wi'h  tlie  fervent  fire 
of  divine  truth  and  love  ;  and  to  gather  the  glo- 
rious  truths  and  promifes  of  the  gofpel  into  a  fafe 
fituation,  fecure  from  being  any  more  aduUerated 
with  falfehood ;  which  is  reprefented  by  wheat- 
gathered  into  tiie  barn  feparated  from  tares, 

f  H.LUSTRATION.^ 

To  make  the  foregoip.g  parable  lignify  the  end- 
fefs  mifery  of  the  wicked  part  of  the  world,  it  is- 
ufually  underftood  as  follows  : 

ill.  By  good  feed  is  meant  good  men, who  believe 
in  Chriit,  and  are  his  true  difciples  in  this  world. 

2d.  By  tares  is  meant  impenitent  unbelievers, 
who,  from  hardnefs  of  iieart  and  bliiidncfs  of  mind, 
rejccl  liie  invitations  of  the  gofpel,  and  refufe  the 
lig !  1 1  wh i ch  God  has  fe n t . 

3d.  By  the  tares  and  wheat  growing  together 
until  the  time  of  harveil:  is  meant,  that  the  right- 
eous and  the  wicked  live  together,  in  this  world, 
Iharino:  the  orivilesres  of  Providence  in  common. 

4th.  The  harveil:,  or  end  of  the   world,  means> 
\  .  the  diiiblution  of  this  material  earth  by  fire. 

5th.  The  gathering  of  the  tares  together,  bind- 
ing them  in  bundles  and  burning  them,  is  to  be 
underfcood  to  mean  the  cafting  of  the  wicked  un- 
believers into  a  Hate  of  inconceivable  torment, 
where  their  mifery  will  never  end. 

6th.  The  gathering  of  the  wheat  into  the  barn, 
means  the  acceptance  of  the  righteous  in  the  king- 
dom jf  everlailing  blifs. 

Let  us  now  look  and  fee  how  fuch  an  explana- 
tion may  be  juftificd  by  the  text.     If  tares,  in  the 


*J0  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

parable,  mean  wicked  men,  what  does  the  text 
mean  by  faying  that  while  juen  /lept  an  enemy  came 
and  fowed  tares  among  the  wheat,  and  went  his 
way  ?  Here  the  reader  is  called  upon  to  exercife 
candor.  Who  were  thofe  mcn^  who  flept  at  the 
time  this  enemy  fowed  tares  amcmg  the  wheat  I 
Were  thofe  men  righteous  or  wicked?  It  feems 
that  their  getting  lo  much  off  of  their  guard  as  to 
be  afleep,  gave  this  enemy  an  opportunit)'bf  fow- 
ing  his  tares.  But  the  above  explanation  fuppofes 
that  the  wicked  are  the  tares.  Jefus  fays,  in  the 
explanation  of  this  parable,  that  he  who  fowed 
the  tares  is  the  devil.  If  then  tares  mean  unbe- 
lievers, what  is  meant  by  the  devil's  fowing  them 
among  the  righteous,  or  the  wheat  ?  It  is  difagree- 
able  even  to  ftate  any  thing  fo  abfurd  as  this  erro- 
neous opinion  appears  to  be.  But  that  the  matter 
may  be  foftated  that  none  may  mifunderftand,  the 
facts  may  ftand  thus  :  If  the  wheat  mean  righteous 
people,  then  the  Son  of  man  fowed  righteous 
people  in  this  world.  If  wicked  people  are  the 
tares,  then  the  devil  fowed  wicked  people  in  this 
world,  w^hile  the  righteous  were  aileep  !  As  no 
reafonable  perfon  can  believe  that  the  devil  fowed 
wicked  men  in  this  world,  fo,  it  would  feem,  no 
reafonable  perfon  in  the  free  exercife  of  rationality, 
can  believe  that  tares,  in  the  text,  mean  wicked 
men.  Yet  if  we  admit  the  wild  notion  of  Chrift's 
fowing  the  righteous  in  this  world,  and  of  the 
devil's  fowing  the  wicked  here  among  them,  what 
will  be  the  confequences  ?  W^ho  did  Chrift  come 
to  fiive  ?  The  righteous  ?  No,  he  came  not  to  call 
the  righteous,  but  finners  to  repentance.  If  tares 
can  be  converted  into  wheat,  which  mufl  be  fuppo- 
fable  according  to  common  opinion,  then  it  would 
be  a  waile  to  cail  away  or  burn  the  tares.      He 


Kijfes  on  the  Parables,  71 

that  faid,  "  Gatlier  up  the  fragments  that  nothing 
be  loft,"  will  never  burn  tares,  if  he  can  convert 
them  into  wheat,  as  eafily  as  he  could  ^ttd  the 
muUitudes  which  he  did  with  fo  fmall  a  quantity 
of  provilion. 

Let  us  look  again  and  (ct  if  there  be  any  analo- 
gy between  the  foregoing  fentiments  and  the 
context  which  introduces  this  parable. 

As  is  obferved  in  the  notes,  the  reader  may  find 
this  parable  introduced  by  an  explanation  of  a  pre- 
ceding parable.  "  Behold  a  fower  went  forth  to 
fow  ;  and  when  he  fowed,  fome  feeds  fell  by  the 
w^ay  fide,  and  the  fowls  came  and  devoured  them 
up.  Some  fell  upon  ftony  places,  where  they 
had  not  much  earth  ;  and  forthwith  they  fprung 
up,  becaufe  they  had  no  deepnefs  of  earth  ;  and 
when  the  fun  was  up  they  were  fcorched  ;  and, 
becaufe  they  had  no  root,  they  withered  away. 
And  fome  fell  among  thorns ;  and  the  thorns 
fprang  up  and  choaked  them.  But  other  fell  into 
good  ground,  and  brought  forth  fruit,  fome  an 
hundred  fold,  fome  fixty  fold,  fome  thirty  fold." 
As  is  fhown  in  the  explanation  which  Chrifl  gave 
the  above  parable,  he  evidently  mjeant  to  rcprcfent 
the  gofpel  which  he  preached  by  feed  which  the 
fower  fowed,  the  different  hearers  of  the  word,  by 
the  different  foils  into  which  the  feed  fell,  kc.  Sec 
the  explanation.  When  any  one  heareth  the  word  of 
the  kingdom,  and  underflandeth  it  not,  then  com- 
eth  the  wicked  one,  andcatcheth  away  that  which 
was  fown  in  his  heart.  This  is  he  which  received 
feed  by  the  wa.y  fide.  But  he  that  received  the 
feed  into  flony  places,  the  fame  is  he  that  heareth 
the  w^ord,  and  anon  with  joy  receiveth  it  :  Yet 
hath  he  not  root  in  himfelf,  but  dureth  for  a  while; 
for  when  tribulation  or  perfecution  arifeth  becaufe 


^2  Ncies  on  ihe  Parables, 

of  the  word,  by  and  by  he  is  offended.  He  alf© 
that  received  leed  among  the  thorns,  is  he  that 
iheareth  the  word  ;  and  the  care  of  this  world,  and 
the  deceitfulnefs  of  riches,  choak  the  .word,  and  he 
beconieth  unfruitfuL  But  he  that  receivcth  feed 
into  the  good  ground  is  he  that  heareth  the  word, 
and  underftandeth  it,  which  alio  beareth  fruit,  and 
bringeth  forth,  fomc  an  hundred-fqki,  fome  lixty^ 
fbme  thirty.  T 

With  the  above  explanation,  Jefus  introduced 
the  parable  of  the  tares  of  the  field.  Now  as  Je- 
fus evidently  means  to  reprefent  the  word  of  his 
kingdom,  which  he  preached,  by  tlie  feed  which 
fell  in  different  grounds,  where  is  the  propriety  of 
fuppofing  that  he  means  men  and  women  by  the 
good  feed  which  he  fowed  in  his  field  ?  or  by 
tares  v/hich  the  enemy  fowed  ? 

If  we  are  difpofed  to  Aife  the  words  of  our  blelT- 
ed  Redeemer  in  a  candid  manner,  and  learn  his 
meaning  by  a  careful  connexion  of  the  facred  text, 
it  will  appear  very  evident  that  the  above  notes  on 
the  parable  of  the  tares  of  the  field  embrace  the 
•general  ideas  thei'e  communicated.  Wheat  is  by 
no  means  an  unfuitable  emblem  of  the  word  of 
the  gofpel,  the  true  doclrine  of  divine  life.  Nor 
are  tares  of  a  very  diiferent  character  from  falfe 
-dodrines  which  make  many  appearanc^^s  like  the 
truth,  as  tares  do  like  wheat,  when  in  the  blade. 
As  tares  are  of  a  hurtful  nature  among  wheat, 
choaking  it  and  rendering  the  harvefl  light,  fo  are 
the  falfe  doctrines  in  the  chriftian  church  ;  they 
have  choaked  the  pure  word  of  life,and  while  they 
have  flouriflied  tliemfeives,  the  truth  feemed  to 
wither  away.  It  does  not  appear  at  all  unlikely, 
that  by  harveff,  or  end  of  the  world,  the  ."raviour 
might  mean  the  fame  which  he  communicated  to. 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  73 

his  fervant  John  on  the  Ifle  of  PatmoS,  relative  to 
the  clofe  of  the  reign  of  the  beaft.  It  is  then  that 
an  angel  comes  down  from  heaven  with  a  chain, 
and  binds  the  old  ferpent,  the  devil,  who  fowed  the 
tares.  This  angel,  no  doubt,  fignifies  the  miniftry 
of  the  two  wdtnelTes,  after  they  are  quickened  with 
the  fpirit  of  life  from  God.  St.  Paul  directs  us 
to  the  fame  event,  and  gives  it  a  iimilar  appear- 
ance in  2  Thes.  ii.  7,  8.  "  For  the  myftery  of  ini- 
quity doth  already  work  ;  only  he  who  now  let- 
tcth,  will  let,  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the  way  ; 
and  then  (hall  that  wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the 
Lord  (liall  confume  with  the  fpirit  of  his  mouth, 
and  fliall  deih'oy  with  the  brigbtnefs  of  his  com- 
ing."  llie  prefent  is  the  day  in  which  thefe  fcrip- 
tures  are  receiving  their  fuliilment.  The  day  of 
the  Lord  is  already  come  ;  and  it  burns  like  an 
oven.  It  is  manifefted  by  fire,  and  fliall  try  every 
man's  w^orks,  or  doctrines,  by  fire.  Thofe  doc- 
trines which  are  juftly  reprefented  by  tares,  are 
alfo  reprefented  by  St.  Paul  by  hay,  wood  and 
flubble  ;  thefe  are  to  be  burnt,  and  the  poiTefTors 
of  I  hem,  and  thofe  who  framed  them,  are  to  fufFer 
lofs.  See  the^text :  ifl  Cor.  iii.  15.  "  If  any  man's 
work  fliall  be  burnt,  he  fliall  fufFer  lofs  :  but  he 
himfelf  fliall  be  faved  ;  yet  fo  as  by  fire."  It  is 
well  to  notice  that  when  the  true  light  advances, 
and  the  darknefs  is  fleeing  away,  the  minifters  of 
darknefs  cry  out  againft  the  prevailing  errors  of 
the  times,  and  call  it  a  day  of  darknefs.  This  is 
dcfcribed  by  the  prophet  ;  See  i^mos  v.  16 — 23. 
"  Tlierefore  the  Lorci,  the  God  of  hofts,  the  Lord, 
faith  thus,  Wailing  fliall  be  in  all  flreets ;  and 
they  fliall  fay  in  all  the  highvvays,  alas  !  alas !  and 
they  (hall  c'all  the  hufbandman  to  mourning,  and 
fuch  as  are  fldlful  in  lamentation  to  wailinj;.  And 
G 


74  A'c/V^  en  the  Parables. 

in  all  vineyards  fliall  be  wailing :  for  I  will  pa^ 
through  thee,  faith  the  Lord.  Woe  unto  you 
that  dcfire  the  day  of  the  Lord  !  to  what  end  is  it 
for  you  ?  The  day  of  the  Lord  is  darknefs  and 
not  light.  As  if  a  man  did  flee  from  a  lion,  and 
a  bear  met  him  ;  or  went  into  the  houfe  and 
leaned  his  hand  on  the  wall,  and  a  ferpent  bit 
him.  Shall  not  the  day  of  the  Lord  be  darknefs 
and  not  Hght  ?  even  very  dark,  and  no  brightnefs 
in  it  ?  1  hale,  I  defpife  your  feaft-days,  and  I  will 
not  fmell  in  your  folcmn  aflemblies.  Though  ye 
offer  me  burnt -offerings,  and  your  meat-offerings, 
I  will  not  accept  them  ;  neither  Will  I  regard  the 
peace-ofFerir^^s  of  your  fat  beads.  lake  thou 
away  from  me  the  iioife  of  your  fongs  ;  for  I  will 
not  hear  the  melody  of  your  viols."  How  re- 
markably clear  the  prefent  day  is  pointed  out  in 
the  above  fcripture.  The  chriftian  clergy  have 
been  praying  for  a  long  time  that  the  glorious  day 
of  the  Lord  would  cosne,  that  papal  darknefs  and 
idolatry  might  come  to  an  end,  and  that  the  true 
gofpel  might  fhine  fo  clearly  as  to  difcover  and 
confume  all  error ;  and  God,  according  to  his 
promifes,  is  now  fulfilling  thefe  things  ;  but  what 
are  thofe  who  defired  the  day  of -the  Lord  about  ? 
Why  groping  in  thick  darknefs,  according  to  the 
words  of  the  prophet.  They  are  calling  the  huf- 
bandmen  who  have  been  laboring  to  raife  up  the 
tares,  and  to  pluck  up  the  wheat,  to  mourning; 
and  thofe  among  them,  who  are  fkilful  in  lamenta- 
tion, are  called  to  wailing.  Who  would  have  be- 
lieved, thirty  years  ago,  that  our  clergy  in  America 
would  have  fet  up  a  lamentation  at  the  downfal 
of  popery  ?  Would  they  not  have  rejoiced  then, 
if  they  could  have  believed  that  any  of  them 
ihould  live  to  fee  the  day  ?    But  the  overflowing 


]>Jote5  on  the  F-arables*  j^ 

fcourge  comes  too  near  them.  They  thought 
themfelves  fecure ;  they  faid,  "  We  have  made  a 
covenant  with  death,  and  with  hcil  are  we  at 
agreement  ;  when  the  overflowing  fcourge  fliall 
pals  through,  it  Ihall  not  come  unto  us  :  for  we 
have  made  lies  our  refuge,  and  under  falfehood 
have  we  hid  ourfelves."  But  God  anfwers  them 
as  follows  ;  See  Ifaiah  xxviii.  1 6 — 20.  "  Therefore, 
thus  faith  the  Lord  God,  behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a 
foundation  a  ftone,  a  tried  ftone,  a  precious  cor- 
ner Hone,  a  fure  foundation  :  he  that  believeth 
ihall  not  make  hafte.  Judgment  alfo  v/iil  I  lay 
to  the  line,  and  righteoufnefs  to  the  plun)met  ; 
and  the  hail  iliall  fweep  awMy  the  refuge  of  lies, 
and  the  waters  fliall  overflow  the  hiding-places. 
i\nd  your  covenant  with  death  fiiall  be  difan nulled, 
and  your  agreement  with  hell  fliall  no.t  fland  ; 
when  the  overflowing  fcourge  fliall  pafs  through, 
then  ye  (hall  be  trodden  down  by  it.  From  the 
time  that  it  goeth  forth  it  fliall  take  you  :  for 
morning  by  morning  fliall  it  pafs  over,  by  day 
and  by  night ;  and  it  fliall  be  a  vexation  only  to 
underftand  the  report.  For  the  bed  is  fliorter 
than  a  man  can  ftrctch  himfelf  on  it,  and  the  cover- 
ing narrower  than  that  he  can  wrap  himfelf  in  it/' 
The  doclrine  of  limited,  partial  folvation,  and 
never  ending  punifliment,  in  which  there  is  no 
mercy,  as  there  is  none  of  that  wifdom  in  it, 
which  is  full  of  mercy  and  without  partiality,  is 
the  bed.'On  which  the  wifdom  of  this  world,  which 
cometh  to  nought,  has  been  endeavoring,  in  a 
thoufand  ways,  to  ftretch  that  man  who  is  more 
procious  than  the  gold  of  Ophir  ;  but  the  bed  is 
too  fliort.  The  benevolent  Jefus  fays,  notwith- 
fl:anding  they  have  decked  their  bed  with  tapeflry, 
and  with  the  fine  linen  of  Egypt,  yet  I   have  not 


7^  Notes  on  the  Parabks^ 

where  to  lay  my  head.  His  head  is  therefore  wet 
with  dew,  and  hi&  locks  with  the  drops  of  ther 
night. 

How  much  Ikirting  and  fringing  there  has  been 
to  the  creeds  of  antichriftj  and  after  all,,  the  cover- 


in  sr  is  too  narrow. 


PARi\BLE  XIV. 

"  Another  pajable  put  he  forih  unto  them,  fayinof,  The  king- 
dom oi- heaven  is  like  to  a  grain  of  muftard  (Qta^  which  a 
man  took  and  fowed  in  his  field  ;  which  indeed  is  the  leaft 
of  all  feeds  ;  but  when  it  is  grown,  it  is  the  greateft  among 
herbs,  aiad  becometh  a  tree  ;  io  that  the  birds  of  ihe  air 
conje  and  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof." 

Mat-  xiii.  31,  32. 

IN  thi^  parable,  Chrifl  reprefents^ 
I  ft.  The  gofpel  of  everlafting  life,  by  one  graia 
of  muftardfeed  ;  not  on  account  of  its  frnalinefs, 
or  iniigniiicancy,  in  itfelf  confidered  ;  but  on  ac- 
count of  its  fmall  appearance  when  it  was  firft  re- 
vealed to  man  on  earth,  by  a  threat  to  the  ferpent, 
in  which  it  was  faid,  "  Thcj^^J  of  the  womaa 
iliould  bruife  his  head.'' 

■id.  Mankind,  or  human  nature,  by  a  field,  in 
whicii  the  inufLard-f-sd  is  fown  ;  in  which  this, 
parable  correfponds  with  the  fornier. 

^3d.  Chrift  reprefents  himfelf,  by  the  man  who 
fowed  the  muftard  {qq(\  :  His  doctrine,  v/hich  he 
preached,  by  the  muftard-feed,  which  appeared 
vain  and  iniignificant  to  the  fcribes  and  pharifees  -^ 
the  leaft  of  all  feeds,  the  mt)ft  defpifed  in  the  eyes 
of  vain  and  foolifh  men  who  judge  by  the  out- 
ward appearance  of  things,  without  being  able  to 
fcan  their  inward  qualities,  or  determine  their  real 
worth.     And  how  many  millions  of  ftupid  mor- 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  yy 

tals  are  daily  neglecting  thofe  glorious  truths  of 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  gofpel  of  everlafting 
confequence  and  value,  and  running  greedily  in 
purfuit  of  the  falfe  glare  of  things  of  a  momentary 
confequence,  and  even  building  their  happinefs  in 
acquifitions  which  ought  and  muft  be  their  fliame. 

4th.  He  fhoweth  the  future  fuperiority  of  the 
gofpel  over  all  other  religion,  by  the  muilard-feed, 
which,  after  it  is  grown,  is  the  greateft  among 
herbs. 

And  laftly.  That  reft  which  mankind  fliall  finally 
obtain  in  the  many  manfions  of  divine  grace,  is 
fignified  by  fowls  lodging  in  the  branches  of  this 
chiefcft  among  herbs.. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

In  the  yid  Pfalm,  the  doclrine  of  Chrift  if:  reprc^ 
fented  as  follows:  See  verfe  16.  *'  There  fliall  te 
an  handful  of  corn  in  the  earth  upon  the  top  of 
the  mountains ;  the  fruit  thereof  fhall  fhake  like 
Lebanon  :  and  tliey  of  the  city  Ihall  fiouriih  hke 
g^rafs  of  the  earth/' 

To  the  eye  of  human  wifdom,  the  hope  would 
be  fmall,  and  the  expectations  faint,  which  fliouid 
arife  to  the  num.erous  inhabitants  of  a  city,  from 
one  handful  of  corn,  efpecially  if  that,  in  the 
room  of  being  fown  in  a  luxuriant  vale,  (liould  be 
caft  on  the  tops  of  mountains.  Yet  notwithftand- 
ing  thefe  unpromiling  appearances,  we  are  aflbred, 
in  the  facred  text,  that  its  fruit  fliall  fliake  like 
Lebanon,  and  that  they  of  the  city  fliall  flourifli 
like  grafs  of  the  earth.  The  extenfivenefs-of  the  Re- 
deemer's grace  and  kingdom  is  very  beautifully  ^^x. 
forth  in  this  Pialm.  See  verfe  6,  kc,  "He  fliall 
come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown  grafs  ;  as 
Ihowers  that  water  the  earth.  In  his  days  fliaii 
G  2 


7§  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

the  righteous  flourifh  ;  and  abundance  of  peace  fo 
long  as  the  moon  endureth.  He  fhall  have  do- 
minion alio  from  fea  to  fea^  and  from  the  river 
unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  They  that  dwell  in 
the  wildernefs  ihall  bow  before  him  y  and  his  ene- 
mies ihall  lick  the  duft.  The  kings  of  Tarfhifh^ 
and  of  the  ifles  fhall  bring  prefents  *,  the  kings  of 
Sheba  and  Seba  Ciall  ofrer  gifts.  Yea,  all  kings 
Ihall  fall  down  before  him  ;  all  nations  fhall  ferve 
him."  What  heart  can  refrain  from  joy  on  being: 
afTured  that  all  thofe  kinq:s  v.^ho  have  made  their 
terrors  known  on  the  earth,  whofc  v/icked  reigns 
are  recorded  as  horrible  monuments  of  human 
pride  and  ambition,  whofe  very  names,  on  account 
of  their  ungodly  cruelty,  are  words  of  reproach, 
iliall,  finally,  be  the  humble,  penitent  fubjecls  c£ 
divine  grace  ?  Is  there  a  lover  of  the  bleffed  jefus, 
in  the  world,  who  can  refrain  from  gladnefs  when. 
2i{iVLVQiMh2it  all  nations  Jhall Jerve  this- glorious  cap- 
tain of  our  falvarion  ?  ? 

The  wonderful  increafe  and  growth  of  the  gof- 
pel  in  the  world,  and  the  diminiiliing  of  falfe  doc- 
trines in  the  fame  ratio,  reprefented  by  the  para- 
ble of  the  muflard,  are  clearly  fet  forth  in  the 
17th  chapter  of  EzekiePs  prophecy:  See  verfes 
a2,  23,  24.  "Thus  faith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  alfo 
take  of  the  highell  branch  of  the  high  cedar,  and 
will  fet  it,  I  will  crop  off  from  the  top  of  his  young 
tv/igs  a  tender  one,  and  will  plant  it  upon  an  high 
mountain  and  eminent.  In  the  moun<:ain  of  the 
height  of  Ifrael  will  I  plant  it ;  and  it  Ihall  bring- 
forth  boughs,  and  bear  fruit,  and  be  a  goodly 
cedar :  and  under  it  fhall  dwell  all  fowl  of  every 
wing  ;  in  the  fliadow  of  the  branches  thereof  ihall 
they  dwell.  And  all  the  trees  of  the  field  fhall 
know  that  I  the  Lord  have  brought  down  the 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  79 

Mgh  tree,  have  exalted  the  low  tree,  have  dried 
up  the  green  tree,  and  have  made  the  dry  tree  to 
flourith  :  1  the  Lord  have  fpoken,  and  have  done 
it."  The  popular  religion,  which  has  appeared  fo' 
high,  green  and  Eouriihing,  in  which  the  carnal 
pride  of  man  has  fo  much  delighted,  is  fet  forth,  in 
the  above  text,  as  brought  low  and  dried  up  ;  v/hile 
the  true  gofpel,  which,  in  the  eyes  of  vain  profef- 
fors,  has  appeared  low  and  dry,  even  as  a  root  out 
of  dry  ground,  having  no  comelincfs,  is  reprefenC- 
ed  as  being  exalted  and  flouridiing. 

Chrifl  and  his  doclrinc,  as  they  appeared  to  the 
fcribes,  pharifees,  and  doctors  of  divinity,  was  low, 
mean  and  contemptible.  Mmy  were  the  plauhble 
objeclions  which  thofe  felf  ililed  learned  divines 
could  make  to  Jefus  and  his  religion.  HcAvas  not 
educated  in  their  divinity  fchool ;  he  was  not  regu- 
larly inducted  into  Mofes'  feat  as  a  teacher ;  he 
went  about  as  an  innovator,  preached  any  where, 
where  he  fourid  an  audience,  fomeiimcs  on  board 
of  a  Hiip,  at  another  in  fome  defert  place,  then  on 
fome  mountain.  He  was  remarkable  for  being  a^ 
friend  to  linners,  and  was  conftantly  in  their  com- 
pany, v/hich  he  feemcd  to  prefer  to  the  company 
of  thofe  who  fuppofed  that  their  fandity  and  zeal 
for  the  true  religion  would  have  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  any  true  prophet  of  God  He  forgave 
finners  their  iins^  fet  ttiem  at  liberty  from  Satan's 
yoke,  and  adopted  them  into  his  fi-nily^ ;  this  was 
very  difguiHng  to  thofe  who  prided  themfelveS' 
on  their  own  goodnefs. 

If  thofe  linners,  who  knew  not  rke  law,  could 
be  forgiven  and  admit:ed  into  divine  favor,  they 
v/  ;re  juil  a^  well  pro vi  Jed  for  as  thofe  who  had 
i;:adied  the  law  according  to  the  rules  of  their 
fciiOoI,  lafccd  twice  iu  a  week,  and  paid  tithes  of 


8'o  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

all  which  they  poffefl^^d.  This,  in  their  opinions, 
inuft  have  appeared  very  irreligious  and  demoral- 
ifing,  and  of  a  tendency  dangerous  to  the  caufe  of 
true  religion.  The  Sabbath  day  was  fo  much  dif- 
regarded  as  to  have  miracles  of  mercy  performed 
on  it,  to  the  great  grief  of  thefe  godly  fathers  of 
the  church,  ^nd,  indeed,  as  if  to  render  himfclf 
odious  in  their  fight,  Jefus  informed  them  for  cer- 
tainty, that  publicans  and  harlots  ihould  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  before  them.  What  could 
thefe  blinded  bigots  naturally  conclude,  but  that 
Jefus  was  a  Samaritan  and  had  a  devil  ?  Thus 
they  thought,  and  thus  they  treated  the  Lord  of 
glory  with  contempt,  and  his  doctrine  with  fcorn. 
Yet  this  leaft  of  all  feeds  grew,  run  and  was 
GLORiFiEDs  until  its  towering  branches  over-topped 
all  the  religion  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharifees,  put 
out  the  light  of  pagan  idolatry,  and  become  very 
glorious.  But  Zion  in  her  travels  has  her  nigl;.' s 
as  well  as  her  days.  Since  the  revival  of  the  doc- 
trine of  (he  old  Pharifees,  together  with  many  fu- 
perllitions  of  the  Gentiles,  ail  which  have  been  ef- 
tablifhed  in  Chrifrendom,  bearing  the  name  of  An- 
tichrift,  Zion  has  been  in  the  waidernefs  in  a  low 
condition  and  defolate.  But  her  time  is  now. 
come,  and  the  Lord  is  now  fullilling  his  promife  in 
returning  her  captivity,  and  rendering  lier  the  joy 
of  the  whole  earth.  Her  doctrine  is  as  much  del- 
pifed  by  thofe  who  ftand  in  X.ht  fpirit  and  religion 
of  the  old  Pharifees,  as  it  was  by  thofe  Pharifees 
when  her  fon  preached  it  in  the  flefli.  How^ever, 
we  have  God's  promife,  and  v/e  may  fafely  truft  in 
it,  that  (he  fliali  be  eifabliilied  in  righteoufnefs,  and 
that  Ihe  ihall  be  far  rrom  oppreliion.  That  no 
weapon  that  is  formed  againft  her  fliall  profper  : 
and  every  tongue  that  fhall  rife  againft  her  in 
judgment,  {lie  ihall  condemn. 


Notes  on  the  Parables*  Zi 

PARABLE  XV. 

•*  Another  parable  fpake  he  unto  thvru,  The  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  Ifke  unto  leaven>  which  a  woman  took  and  hid  in  ihrce 
roeafares  of  meal,  till  the  whole  was  leavened.'* 

Mat.  xiii.  33. 

BY  this  parable  we  learn,  ift.  The  divine  ef- 
ficacy of  the  gofpcl  on  the  creature  who  ftands  in 
need  of  its  falvation,  by  the  po%er  of  leaven  oper- 
ating in  meal. 

2d.  We  are  taught  that  all  momentous  trutli 
and  fublime  do(5trinal  idea  of  the  real  nature  of 
man,  which  abfolutely  ftands  in  relation  to  Chrifk, 
or  his  gOibel,  as  meal  does  to  leaven  ;  for,  it  may 
be  obforvcd,  that  leaven  could  have  no  poilible 
operation  in  meal,  did  not  the  meal,  in  its  own 
nature,  poiTefs  a  quality  that  naturally  adhered  to 
the  leaven. 

3d.  The  final  effects  of  divine  grace  in  themin- 
iftry  of  reconciliation,  in  which  we  look  for  unr- 
verfal  fubmiilion  to  Chrift  in  his  glorious  and  ever 
bleucd  kingdom,  is  communicated  in  that  it  is 
faid,  *'  until  the  whole  was  leavened.** 

ILLUSTRATION. 

As  leaven  has  a  power  to  affimulate  meal  with 
itfelf,  fo  as  to  form  but  one  mafs  and  to  conftitute 
a  unity  of  all  its  parts,  it  is  a  remarkably  happy 
reprefeatation  of  the  power  of  divine  light,  truth 
and  love,  in  their  operation  in  faving  mankind 
from  fm,  and  bringing  them  into  reconciliation 
with  God.  To  effect  this  reconciliation  is  the 
great  objecl  of  the  gof^^el  miniftry,  as  may  be  {ctn 
in  St.  Paul's  2d  Epiftle  to  the  Corinthians,  where 
he  (hows  the  general  procefs  of  bringing  from  the 
lyftem  of  thc'ficfh  into  that  of  the  fpirit,  the  do- 


S2  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

ing  away  of  old  things,  and  of  having  all  things 
new  in  conformity  to  God.  See  verfe  14,  &c. 
"  For  the  love  of  Chrifl  conflraineth  us,  becaufe 
we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then  were 
all  dead  :  and  that  *he  died  for  all,  that  they  which 
live  fhould  not  henceforth  live  unto  themfelves, 
but  unto  him  v/hich  died  for  them,  and  rofe  again. 
Wherefore,  henceforth  know  we  no  man  after  the 
flefh  :  Yea,  thoijgh  we  have  known  Chrift  after 
the  fleih,  yet  naw  henceforth  know  wc  him  no 
more.  Therefore,  if  any  man  be  in  Chrift  he  is  a 
new  creature  :  old  things  are  palled  away  ;  behold, 
all  thing's  are  become  new.  And  all  thin2;s  are  of 
God.  who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himfclf  by  Jefus 
Chrift,  and  hath  given  to  us  the  miniftry  of  re- 
conciliation :  to  wit,  that  God  was  in  Chrift  re- 
conciling  the  World  unto  himfelf,  not  imputing 
their  trefpaftes  unto  them/' 

The  opinion  of  our  doctors,  that  the  very  na- 
ture of  man  is  fo  depraved  that  there  is  nothing 
morally  good  in  it,  and  that  it  is  totally  averfe  to 
the  nature  of  God,  is  doubtlefs  erroneous!  St. 
Paul  fays,  Rom.  v.  8.  "  But  God  commendeth  his 
love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  finners, 
Chrift  died  for  us."  Again  he  fpeaks  of  the  great 
LOVE  wherewith  God  loved  us,  even  when  we 
were  dead  in  sins. 

Here  let  us  inquire,  what  it  was  that  God  lov- 
ed ?  He  furely  could  not  love  that  which  is  total- 
ly contrary  to  his  nature  ;  yet  he  loved  us  while 
we  were  yet  finners.  It  is  believed  and  taught, 
that  man  by  lin  has  loft  the  image  of  God  in 
which  he  was  created,  but  this  opinion  does  not 
well  agree  with  the  teaching  of  Chrift,  where  he 
reprefents  the  linner  by  a  loft  fheep,  a  loft  piece  of 
iilver,  and  by  a  fon  who  went  away  from  his  father 


l^Qtes  on  the  Parables.  S3 

rand  foollfhly  fpent  his  intercft.  In  thole  parables, 
the  iinner  is  reprefented  as  remaining  the  fame  in 
nature  and  fubflance,  but  changed  as  to  cir- 
cumftance  and  difpofition.  If  the  prodigal  had 
lofl  the  image  which  he  had  when  he  went  from 
his  father,  by  what  did  the  father  know  him, 
while  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off  ?  /igain,  if  the 
finner  have  nothing  good  in  him,  what  does 
he  fm  againft  ?  Where  there  is  no  law,  there 
is  no  tranfgreflion.  The  apoflle  fays  the  Gentiles 
having  not  the  (written)  law,  area  law  unto 
themfelves  :  which  fliew  the  vvorks  of  the  law 
written  in  their  hearts,  their  confcience  alfo  bear- 
ing witnefs,  and  their  thoughts  the  meanv/hile  ac- 
•  cufmg  or  elfe  cxcufmg  one  another. 

The  fcripturcs  generally  confider  mankind  to 
i^and  in  ths  relation  of  children  to  God,  though 
the  children  are  reprefented  as  alienated  from  the 
life  of  God,  through  the  ignorance  there  is  in 
them.  Now  if  it  be  ignorance  which  is  the  caufe 
■of  our  alienation,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  our  igno- 
rance which  has  produced  all  in  us  which  is  con- 
trary to  our  heavenly  father.  This  being  the  cafe, 
it  is  eafy  to  fee  what  will  be  the  confequence  of  the 
fulfilment  of  the  fciipture  which  faith,  "  All  fhall 
iknovv  me  from  the  leaft  unto  the  greateft."  Ihis 
knowledge  \v\\\  do  away  every  thing  in  us  Vv  hich 
is  contrary  to  hoiinefs,  and  mould  or  aflimilate  us 
into  the  likenefs  of  truth.  Jefus  fays  to  the  Jews, 
if  you  knew  the  truth,  the  truth  fhould  make  you 
f rce  ;  and  again  he  fays,  in  his  prayer  to  his  father, 
this  is  life  eternal  that  they  might  know  thee  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jefus  Chrift  whom  thou  haft 
fent.  If  the  common  doclrine  were  true,  the  re- 
verfe  of  thofe  fcriptures  would  be  true  ;  for  if  the 
nature  of  man  be  oppofed  to  the  nature  of  God, 


5  4  KviCi  on  the  F arables, 

then  the  more  we  know  of  God,  the  more  we 
fhould  feel  an  aveilion  to  him.  -Again,  it  is  an  in- 
variable law  of  nature,  as  far  as  we  can  examine, 
that  thofe  things  and  circumflances  w^hich  agree 
with  the  nature  of  any  creature,  are  beft  calculated 
to  make  that  creature  happy.  Ihe  bird  being 
conflituted  congenial  to  the  air,  cannot  fubfifl  in 
the  water,  but  is  as  happy  in  the  air  as  the  fifli  is 
in  his  native  clement,  to  of  the  f:lh,  he  being 
fuited  to  the  clement  of  water,  is  as  happy  there  as 
the  bird  is  in  the  element  to  wnich  he  is  fuited. 
Would  it  then  be  a  bleffing  to  the  bird  to  convert 
his  nature  into  that  of  a  fifli  ?  or  would  it  be  a 
bleffing  to  th^  fifh  to  be  converted  into  a  bird  ? 
It  is  plain  that  it  would  add  nothing  to  either  of 
their  happinefs.  To  change  the  nature  of  a  crea- 
ture, is  therefore  not  a  bleffing  ;  but  to  help  any 
creature  out  of  a  circumftance  which  is  contrary 
to  its  nature  into  one  more  agreeable,  is  a  bleffing. 
1  he  deliverance  which  w^e  obtain  by  the  gofpel  of 
Chriil,  is  therefore  reprefented  as  having  fuch  an 
effect.  St.  Peter  fpeaks  to  his  brethren  of  God's 
calling  them  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvel- 
lous LIGHT,  why  was  this  a  bleffing  ?  Becaufc 
darknefs  is  not  fo  pleafant  nor  fo  agreeable  as  light 
is.  But  the  objector  mull  have  the  liberty  to 
fuggefl  that  men  chufe  darknefs  rather  than  light, 
and  it  is  true  that  they  do,  and  there  are  two  rea- 
fons  for  it ;  the  firft  is,  they  put  darknefs  for  ^ight, 
and  the  fecond  is,  their  deeds  are  evil.  The  pro- 
phet Ifaiah  fpeaks  of  Chrift  as  being  given  "for  a 
covenant  of  the  people,  for  a  light  oi  the  gentiles  j 
to  open  the  blind  eyes,  to  bring  out  the  prifoners 
from  the  prifon,  and  them  that  fii  in  darknefs  out 
of  the  pfifon-houfe."  As  it  is  not  fo  agreeable  to 
our  nature  to  be  blind,  and  in  darknefs,  as  it  ib  to 


Nt/fes  on  the  Parables*  S5 

fee  and  have  the  light,  fo  fuch  metaphors  are  cho- 
fen  to  reprefcnt  the  faivation  of  man  from  his  fiii 
which  is  fo  contrary  and  tormenting  to  his  nature. 

As  a  prifon  houfe  is  difagreeable  to  men,  and 
our  very  natures  ihudder  at  the  thoughts  of  con- 
finement, fo  it  is  proper  to  reprefent  a  flate  of  fin 
by  fuch  a  furiilitude.  And  as  freedom  from  im- 
prifonment  is  an  object  of  the  higheft  poflible 
concern  with  one  who  is  confined,  fo  it  is  proper 
to  reprefent  the  bleflings  of  the  gofpel,  which  faves 
us  from  the  bondage  of  fin,  by  fuch  an  emblem. 
But  what  propriety  would  there  be  in  fuch  repre- 
fentations,  if  the  finner  were  in  a  fituation  perfect- 
ly  agreeable  to  his  nature,  as  is  the  bird  when  on 
its  wings  in  the  air. 

The  univerfal  fubmiilion,  fuggefted  in  the  notes, 
to  Chrifi:  in  his  glorious  and  ever  blelfed  kingdom, 
may  be  illuftrated  and  fully  proved  by  the  follow- 
ing fcriptures.  Eph.  i.  8,  9,  10.  "  Wherein  he 
hath  abounded  towards  us  in  all  wifdom  and  pru- 
dence ;  having  made  known  unto  us  the  myllery 
of  his  will,  according  to  his  good  pleafure,  which 
he  hath  purpofed  in  himfelf  :  that,  in  the  difpen- 
fation  of  the  fulnefs  of  times,  he  might  gather  to- 
gether in  one  all  things  in  Chrift,  both  which  are 
in  heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth,  even  in  him." 
It  is  jufl:  to  notice,  that  as  the  parable  denotes  the 
whole  mafs  of  meal  to  be  leavened,  which  brings 
the  whole  into  a  unity  of  circumfi:ance,  fo  the 
apoftle,  in  the  above  text,  fpeaks  of  all  things  be- 
ing gathered  together  in  one,  in  Chrift.  The 
apoftle  fays,  as  has  been  noticed  before,  *'  If  any 
man  be  in  Chrift,  he  is  a  new  creature."  And 
here  he  fays  that  all  things  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
fhall  be  gathered  together  in  Chrift,  which  corref- 
ponds  with  the  words  of  him  who  fitteth  on  the 
H 


S6  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

throne,  who  faith,  "  Behold  I  make  all  things 
new."  Phil.  ii.  9,  10,  ii.  "  Wherefore  God  alVo 
hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name 
which  is  above  every  name  ;  that  at  the  name  of 
Jcfus  every  knee  fliould  bow,  of  things  in  heaven, 
and  thicigs  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth  ; 
and  that  every  tongue  fhould  confefs,  that  Jefus 
Chriil  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." 
Col.  i.  19,  20,  21.  "  For  it  pleafed  the  Father,  that 
in  him  fliould  all  fuln^fs  dwell  :  And  (having 
made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his  crofs)  by 
him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himfelf  ;  by  him, 
I  fay,  whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things 
in  heaven.  And  you,  that  were  fome  time  alien- 
ated, and  enemies  in  your  mind  by  wicked  works, 
yet  now  hath  he  reconciled.'*  Let  us  afk  the  foU 
lowing  important  queftions  relative  to  thofe  fcrip- 
tures,  above  quoted. 

ift.  What  is  the  fact  which  the  author  of  thofe 
paiTages  intended  to  communicate  by  them  ? 

2d.  Is  that  fa^i  clearly  exprefied  by  the  words 
which  the  author  ufedf 

3d.  Is  that  fa^  confident  with  the  moral  char- 
acter of  God,  fo  as  to  be  honorary  to  him  ? 

4th.  Is  it  confiftent  with  the  fpirit  of  Chrift,  fo 
as  to  be  honorary  to  his  mediatorial  office  ? 

In  anfwer  to  the  firft  qtieftion  will  it  do  to  fay, 
that  the  fact  which  the  apoftle  mer.nt  to  commu- 
nicate in  thofe  palTages,  is,  that  God  has  madeJ. 
known  the  myftery  of  his  will  according  to  the 
good  pleafure  which  he  purpofed  in  himfelf,  that 
through  the  mediation  of  Jefus,  he  defigns  the 
reconciliation  of  but  a  fmall  part  of  mankind  to 
himfelf?  And  that  only  a  very  few  of  the  human 
race  fhould  be  finally,  in  the  difpenfation  of  the 
/ulnefs  of  times,  gathered  together  in  one  in  Chrifl? 


I^ofes  on  the  FaraBlcs,  ^j 

is  there  one  fingle  exprefTion,  in  thofe  fcriptures, 
which  goes,  in  the  leaft  fenfe,  to  exprefs  fuch  a 
facl  ?  There  furely  is  not ;  but  the  whole  appears 
to  have  been  defigned  to  exprefs  fomething  very 
different.  The  expreffions  ufed  in  the  notes  ice  hi 
to  be  as  fuitable  to  exprefs  the  facl:  which  we  arc 
after,  as  any  at  command.  "  Univerfiil  fubmifiion 
to  Chrift  in  his  glorious  and  ever  blefled  king- 
dom." And  the  candor  of  the  reader  is  requetled 
to  judge,  on  mature  deliberation,  whether  there 
are- any  expreflTons  left  out  of  the  above  quoted 
fcriptures,  which  are  v/anting  to  exprefs  this  facl. 

To  the  fecond  queflion  it  may  be  replied,  that 
there  appears  not  the  lead  ambiguity  in  the  ex- 
preffions, but  a  manifeil  defign,  and  that  by  an 
excellent  mafter  of  language,  to  (late  the  facl  a-s 
plainly  as  poUible.  As  it  refpecls  univerfality,  he 
fays,  All  things  in  heaven,  and  in  earth,  and  under  the 
earth.  As  it  refpeds  fubmifiion,  he  fays.  Gather 
together  in  one  all  things  in  Chrijl  :  that  at  the  name  of 
ye/us  every  knee  Jhould  boii\  and  that  every  tcngue  fnould 
confefs,  that  Jefus  Chrill  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  father.  By  him  to  reconcile  aU  things'  to 
himfelf.  Thus  the  facl  expreffed  is  as  plain  as 
words  can  make  it. 

To  the  third  queflian  we  find  an  anfwer  in  one 
of  the  pafTages  quoted,  as  follows  :  "  That  at  tlie 
name  of  Jefus  every  knee  fhould  bow,  and  that 
every  tongue  fhould  confefs,  that  Jefus  Chrift  is 
Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  father.'' 

The  laft  queftion  muft  be  conceded  to  in  the 
afiirmative  ;  for  the  fpirit  of  Chrift  in  ail  believers, 
moves  them  to  pray  for  univerfal  reconciliation 
to  God  through  his  mediation,  wliich  prayer  is 
conhftent  with  the  manifeft  objecl  of  the  media- 
torial ofiice>  as  exprefled  in  the  following  fcrip- 


SB  Noffs  on  the  Parables. 

tures :  "  For  this  purpofe  was  the  Son  of  God 
manifefted,  that  he  might  deftroy  the  works  of 
the  devil."  "  And  we  know  that  he  was  inanu 
fefted  to  take  away  our  fins."  "  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  fin  of  the  world." 


PARABLES  XVI  and  XVII. 

"*  Again,  ihe  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  uato  ireafure  hi3  in  a 
field  ;  the  which  when  a  man  hath  found,  he  hideth,  and  for 
)oy  thereof  goeth  and  felleth  all  that  he  hath,  and  buyelh 
that  field.''  Mat.  xiii.  44. 

CHRIST  here  reprefents, 

id.  Human  nature,  by  a  treafurer. 

2d.  Mortality  and  time,  by  a  field,  in  which 
the  treafure  was  hid. 

3d.  Himfelf,  by  the  one  who  found  the  treafure 
and  for  joy  hid  it.. 

4th.  His  parting  with  the  glory  which  he  had 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,  and  vefling^ 
himfelf,  through  his  mediatorial  proceis,  with  all 
povver  in  heaven  and  earth,  by  which  mortality 
and  time  became  manifelliy  his  own,  and  by 
which  his  right  of  property  in  the  whole  creature, 
which  was  made  fubjcd  to  vanity,  was  manifeif  ed, 
is  reprefented  by  a  man's  felling  all  that  he  had 
ix\d  buvins:  the  lield  which  contained  the  treafure. 

"  Again,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :s  like  unto  a  nnerchant  man 
feeking  goodly  pearls ;  vho,  when  he  halh  found  one  pearl 
of  great  price,  he  went  and  fold  all  that  he  had,  and  bought 
it.^'  Versfs  45,  46,     ^ 

Ihe  ideas  communicated  in  this  parable  are  ak 
moll  fimilar  to  thofe  in  the  preceding. 

ift.  Human  nature  is  here  reprefented  by  z pearl 
oi  great  price. 


l^otes  on  the  Parables,  89 

id.  The  Saviour  reprefents  himfelf  by  a  mer- 
chant-man feeking  goodly  pearls. 

3d.  The  fuccels  of  his  miiiion  in  feeking  and 
faving  that  which  was  loft,  is  Ihown  in  that  the 
merchant-man  found  a  pearl  of  great  frice^  and 
made  it  his  own  by  purchafe  ;  for  which  pur- 
pofe,  he  fold  all  that  he  had,  as  defcribed  in  ^hc 
former  parable.  But  let  it  be  remembered,  for 
the  excitement  of  eternal  gratitude,  that  this  pur- 
chafe was  with  great  price. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  two  parables  foregoing,  are  fo  fimilar,  that 
an  illuflration  of  one  is  conceived  to  be  of  both. 
It  is  acknowledged  that  divines,  refpectable  for 
their  learning,  and  highly  dcferving  for  their  afii- 
duity  in  ftudy,  have  underftood  and  taugiit  that 
the  pearl  of  great  price  is  Chrift  Jefus.  And 
agreeably  to  this  generally  received  opinfon,  it  is 
cuilomary  to  make  ufe  of  the  parable  to  awaken 
finners  to  the  importance  of  feeking  Chriil:  aild  of 
getting  an  intereft  in  him  before  it  is  too  late. 
However,  this  opinion,  notwithftanding  it  is  fup- 
ported  by  nnach  authority  from  commentators,  is 
fubiecl:  to  the  foUowino;  objections  from  the  fcrip- 
tures. 

lil.  Mankind  in  a  ilate  of  fm  is  reprefented  by 
flieep  gone  aftray  ;  by  the  fick  who  need  a  phyfi- 
cian  ;  by  captives  to  be  redeemed ;  by  prifoners 
in  a  pit,  who  are  to  be  viilied.  Now  if  Chriil:  be 
the  pearl  of  great  price,  and  the  finrer-  the  mer- 
chant-man,  it  is  putting  the  burden  and  labor  on 
the  loft  Iheep,  to  find  the  (hepherd  :  it  fuppofcs 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Tick  to  vific  the  phyhclan  ; 
of  captives  alfo  to  redeem  tliofe  on  whom  they 
depend  for  redemption  ;  an'.i  it  al/f)  fiippofes  that* 


90  Notes  on  the  Farables. 

thofe  prlfoners  in  the  pit  muft  get  out  themfelves, 
and  go  and  find  fomebody  to  affift  them  out  of 
their  difficulty  ! 

2d.  The  Saviour  fays,  ''  The  Son  of  man  came 
to  feek  and  to  fave  that  which  was  loft."  Again, 
•^  Other  fheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ^ 
them  alfo  I  muft  bring,,  and  they  fliall  hear  my 
vcJice ;  and  there  fliall  be  one  fold  and  one  fhepherd.'' 
Again,  "The  whole  need  not  the  phyfician,  but 
they  that  are  fick."  It  is  alfo  written,  "  They 
ihali  be  gathered  together  as  prifoners  are  gather- 
ed in  the  pit,  and  ihall  be  fhut  up  in  the  prifon, 
and  after  many  days  lliall  they  be  vifited." 

3.d.  As  to  the  purchafe,  what  has  the  finner  to 
fell  which  will  enable  him  to  purchafe  Chrift  ? 
and  if  this  could  be  done,  how  could  it  be  faid 
that  God  fo  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  fon^hd  On  the  other  hand,  is  it  not 
faid  that  Chrift  bought  his  church  with  his  own 
blood  ?  Are  we  not  told,  that  we  are  not  our  own^ 
but  that  we  are  bought  Vv?ith  a  price  ?  and  that  we 
are  not  redeemed  with  corruptible  things,  fuch  as 
fiiver  and  gold,  but  with  the  precious  blood  of 
Chrift?  Though  it  v/ould  be  uncharitable  to  ac- 
cufe  commentators  of  inlincerity  in  turning  the 
fcriptures  contrary  to  their  manifeft  meaning,  yet 
we  may  venture  to  fet  the  common  opinion  of 
the  parable  of  the  pearl  of  great  price,  to  the  credit 
of  antichrift,  as  it  is  by  fuch  turns  that  he  oppofes 
Chrift  as  the  Saviour  of  finners. 

The  objector  to  the  opinion  that  human  nature 
is  the  pearl  of  great  price,  and  Chrift  the  mer- 
chant-man, will  fay  that  mankind,  in  a  ftate  of  lin^ 
cmnot  juftly  be  reprefented  by  a  trcaiure,  or  pearl 
of  great  price.  This  objedion  would  have  all  the 
weight  which  the  objeclor  would  attach  to  it,  if 


Notes  en  the  Fa  rabies.  gr 

fiuman  nature  were  totally  depraved,  as  is  gene- 
raiiy  fuppoled.  Bat  this  cannot  be  granted,  for 
reafons  2[iven  in  the  illuftration  of  the  notes  on  the 

o 

parable  of  the  leaven,  together  with  thofe  that 
follow. 

I  ft.  When  God  made  man,  he  pronounced  him 
very  good.  Now  if  man  was  very  ^ood^  could  he 
be  made  good  for  nothing  as  eafiiy  as  is  generally 
reprefented  ?  If  the  wifdom  ©f  God  pronounced 
man  very  good,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  conclude 
that  he  was  fo  viewed,  in  the  wifdom  of  God,  in 
relation  to  the  whole  futurition  of  his  exiftence. 

2d.  The  general  tenor  of  the  gofpcl  reprefents  the- 
Saviour  as  giving,  himfelf  for  us,  giving  himfelf  a 
ranfom  for  all,  redeeming  us  with  his  own  blood, 
&c.  Now  is  not  this  Christ  the  fame  wifdom  of 
God,  which  pronoupced  man  very  good,  in  the 
beginning  ?  St.  Paul  calls  "  Chrifl  the  power  of 
God,  and  the  wifdom  of  God.*'  And  is  not  this 
the  wildom  of  God  v/hich  fpeaks  in  the  8th  of 
Proverbs,  faying,  "  Then  I  was  by  him,  as  one 
brought  up  with  him  y  and  I  was  daily  his  delight, 
rejoicing  alv/ays  before  him  :  rejoicing  in  the  hab- 
itable parts  of  his  earth  :  and  my  delights  were 
with  the  fons  of  men." 

If  any  change  had  taken  place  in  the  fons  of 
men,  after  creation,  before  Chrift,  who  is  the  wif- 
dom of  God,  came  in  the  flefh,  which  rendered 
them  of  no  value  in  the  eye  of  this  wifdom,  then 
how  is  it  poflible  that  Chrift  Ihould  ftill  let  his 
affeclions  and  love  upon  them  ? 

3d.  As  it  is  impoiiible  for  divine  wifdom  to  fet 
too  high  a  value  on  any  object,  it  muft  be  con* 
ceded,  that  if  God  loved  us  with  a  great  love, 
EVEN  WHEN  WB  v/ERL  DEAD  JN  SIN,  that  there  is 
in  us  a  value  equal  to  being  thus  loved.    If  it  be 


^2^-  Notes  on  ihe  F arables. 

objecled,  that  this  argument,  though  as  clear  as 
light,  and  as  fimple  as  truth,  exalts  the  creature, 
wherein  he  ought  to  be  abaled  ;  let  it  be  replied, 
that  this  argument  fets  up  no  value  or  worth  in 
the  creature  which  is  the  refult  of  any  moral 
agency,  or  phyfical  power  at  his  difpofal  ;  but  it 
Ihows  a  value  or  worth  which  divine  goodnefs- 
gave  the  creature  in  creation,  of  which,  however 
ignorant  we  may  be  of  it,  divine  wildom  can  nev- 
er lofe  fight. 

4th.  The  fuppofition  that  there  is  not  a  value  in  ■ 
riian  as  great  as  this  ai^ument   contends  for,  but 
that  he  is  a  totally  depraved  creature,  cafts  an  un- 
favorable refledion  on  the  creator,  turn  the  argu- 
ment which  way  we  will.     1  o  fay  that  God  creat- 
ed  a  being  of  no  value,  in  his  own  fight,  is  more 
than  any  perfon  can  believe.     And  to  fay  that  he  • 
created  a  being  of  fo  little  worth,  or  placed  that 
worth  on  fueh  a  principle  as  it  fhouM  be  deftroy- 
ed  forever,  is  an  abfurdity  of  equal  deformity  as 
the  other  ;  for  the  creator  might  have  made  his 
creature  good  for  nothing  in  the  firft  place,  as  well  ^ 
as  to  conftitute  him  fo  as  he  would  become  good  ^ 
for  notliing  afterwards*. 

5th.  The  procefs  of  divine  grace  in  bringing  man-- 
kind  into  a  ftate  of  holinefs  and  reconciliation  to* 
God,  is  reprefented  by  washing,  purging,  clean- 
sing,   PURIFYING,  refining,  &c.     Now  uonc  of 
thofe  terms  can  be  juftly  applied  to  that  which  is  ■ 
of  no  value.     See  MaL  iii.  i,  2,  3.  "  Behold  I  will- 
fend  my  meffenger,  and  he  fliaii  prepare  the  way 
before  me  ;  and  the  Lord  v/hom  ye  leek  ihall  fud- 
denly  come  to  his  temple,  even  the  meffenger  of 
the  covenant,   whom   ye  delight   in  :  behold  he 
fhali  come  faith  the  Lord  of  hoils.     But  who  may 
abide  the  day  of  his  coming  ?  and  who  fliail  Hand 


l^otes  on  the  Parables.  93 

v/Iien  he  appeareth  ?  for  he  is  like  a  refiner's  fire, 
and  like  fuller's  foap  :  and  he  (hail  fit  as  a  refiner 
and  purifrer  of  iilver  :  and  he  ihall  purify  the  fons 
of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as  gold  and  filver,  that 
they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in 
righteoufnefs."  In  this  fcripture  the  fons  of  Levi 
are  reprefented  by  gold  and  fiver  ^  not  on  account 
of  their  moral  holinefs  or  perfonal  righteoufnefs, 
for  if  that  had  been  the  cafe  they  would  not  have 
needed  purging^  or  refning.  The  ufe  of  fuller's 
foap  is  to  cleanfe  that  which  is  valuable  in  itfelf, 
from  filth  which  is  not  valuable. 

6th.  If  mankind  be  of  as  little  worth  in  the 
fight  of  God,  as  chriftian  divines  have  reprefent- 
ed, the  whole  race  of  Adam  might  have  been 
flruck  out  of  exigence  without  leaking  an  unfa- 
vorable breach  in  the  fyftem  of  God's  creation. 
If  fo,  the  continuance  of  mankind  in  being,  is  to- 
tally unnecelfary,  a^id  unworthy  of  a  God  of  in- 
finite wifdom.  And  yet  it  is  evidertt  that  were 
there  no  fuch  race  of  beings  as  man,  there  would 
be  no  fuch  office  as  mediator  between  God  and 
fnan,  nor  any  veRige  of  that  gofpei  into  which 
the  angels  defire  to  look.  O  what  folly  has  come 
from  unclean  lips  !  How  much  to  the  diflionor 
of  the  divine  economy  are  thofe  vain  notions 
which  are  confidered  as  eilential  in  the  faith  of 
chrifl:ians  [  But  there  has  been  an  hour  and  pow- 
er of  darknefs  with  the  chriftian  church.  Taught 
in  tender  youth  fuch  vain  abmrdities,  men  o£ 
abilities,  of  letters,  of  honeft  piety,  and  refpecla- 
ble  for  their  morals,  are  zealous  defenders  and 
fupporters  of  ideas  which  involve  the  greateft  ab^ 
iurdities  pofiible. 

But  the  fact  is,  if  mankind  be  acknowledged 
of  any  value  in  the  fight  of  his  maker,  and  if  it 


94  ^otes  en  the  Parables. 

be  acknowledged  that  God  really  has  a  love  for 
him,  the  doftrine  of  endlefs  punifliment,  or  of 
eternal  banifhment  from  God,  has  nothing  to  Sup- 
port it.  For  who  can  believe  that  a  God  of  in- 
finite wifdom  has  created  beings  whom  he  has 
pronounced  good,  and  very  good,  fet  his  love  up* 
on  them  as  his  own  offspring,  created  in  his  own 
image,  and  after  granting  them  many  blefhngs  in^ 
a  temporal  ftate,  will  make  tliem  endiefsly  mifer- 
able  in  an  eternal  world  ?  Contrafled  with  fuch 
erroneous  opinions,  how  does  the  gofpel  of  the- 
bleffed  Jefus  ihine  !  Embracing  the  alienated  fons 
of  God  in  an  everlafting  covenant  of  Xalvation, 
ordered  and  in  ail  things  fure. 


PARABLE  XVIil. 

**  Again,  the  kingdom  cf  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net  that  was 
cad  into  the  fea,  and  gathered  cf  every  kind:  which,  when 
it  was  faU,  they  drew  to  ftiore,  and  fat  down,  and  gathered 
ihe  good  into  vefTels,  but  caft.the  bad  away." 

Mat.  xiii.   47. 

It  will  be  proper  in  this  place  to  introduce  fome- 
thing  of  a  limilar  parable,  which  we  find  in  chap, 
xxii.  from  the  beginning  to  the  14th  verfe,  inclu- 
five  :  "  And  Jefus  anfwered  and  fpake  unto  them 
again  by  parables,  and  faid,  "The  kingdom  of  hea*- 
ven  is  like  unto  a  certain  king  which  made  a  mar- 
riage for  his  fon  ;  and  lent  forth  his  fervants  to 
call  them  that  were  bidden  to  the  wedding :  and- 
they  would  not  come.  Again  he  fent  forth  other 
fervants,  faying.  Tell  them  Vv^hich  are  bidden.  Be- 
hold I  have  prepared  my  dinner  ;  my  oxen  and- 
my  fatlings  are  killed,  and  all  things  are  ready  :^  ^ 
come  unto  the  marriage.     But  they  mkde  light  of 


l^otes  on  ike  Parables.  95 

it,  and  went  their  ways,  one  to  his  farm,  and  an- 
other to  his  merchandife :  and  the  remnant  took 
his  fervants,  and  entreated  them  fpitefully,  and 
llew  them.  But  when  the  king  heard  thereof  he 
was  wroth  :  and  he  fent  forth  his  armies,  and  de- 
ft royed  thofe  murderers,  and  burnt  up  their  city. 
Then  faith  he  to  his  fervants,  The  wedding  is  rea- 
dy, but  they  which  were  bidden  were  not  worthy^ 
Go  ye  therefore  into  the  liigJiways,  and  as  rhany 
as  ye  fliall  find  bid  to  the  marriage.  So  thofe  fer- 
vants went  out  into  the  highways,  and  gathered 
together  all,  as  many  as  they  found,  both  bad  and 
good  :  and  the  wedding  was  furniflied  with  guefts. 
And  when  the  king  came  in  to  fee  the  guells,  he 
faw  there  a  man  which  had  not  on  a  wedding-gar- 
ment :  and  he  faith  unto  him.  Friend,  how  camell 
thou  in  hither,  not  having  a  wedding  gar- 
ment ?  And  he  was  fpeechlefs.  Then  faid  the  king 
to  the  fervants.  Bind  him  hand  and  foot,  and  take 
him  away,  and  caft  him  into  utter  darknefs  :  there 
ihall  be  weeping  and  gnafhingof  teeth.  For  ma- 
ny are  called,  but  few  are  chofen." 

I  ft.  Chrift  in  this  parable  reprefents  the  Father 
of  all  mercies,  by  a  king  who  made  a  marriage  for 
his  fon. 

2d.  Himfelf,  by  a  Prince,  for  whom  his  father 
made  a  wedding. 

3d.  The  then  prefent  opportunity  of  receiving 
Ghrift  and  his  doctrine,  while  he  was  gracioujly 
preaching  the  word  of  the  kingdom,  and  evidenc- 
ing his  authority  by  inconteftible  evidences  of 
power  and  grace,  is  ftgnified  by  a  wedding. 

4th.  The  houfe  of  Ifrael,  undoubtedly,  is  meant, 
by  thofe  who  were  bidden. 

5th.  The  meffage,  brought  to  the  Jews  by 
Chrift  and  thofe  whom  he  ordained  to  preach  to 


^6  Notes  on  tJy^  Parables. 

the  loft  ftieep  of  the  houfe  of  Ifrael,  is  reprefented 
by  the  call  to  thofe  who  were  bidden, 

6th.  The  perfecution  which  they  met  with 
from  the  Jews,  is  (hewn  in  the  treatment  which 
the  lervants  experienced. 

7th.  The  neglect  of  the  Jews  on  this  occafion, 
is  fignified  by  thofe  who  were  bidden  making 
light  of  the  invitation,  one  going  to  his  farm,  and 
another  to  his  m.erchandife. 

8th.  The  dcftruclion  of  the  Jews  by  the  Romans, 
is  meant  by  the  king's  being  wrathful,  and  fend- 
ing forth  his  ar7nies  to  dellroy  thefe  murderers, 
and  to  burn  up  their  city  ;  meaning  Jerufaleiiu 

We  now  come  to  that  part  of  this  parable  which 
correfponds  with  the  one  above  written  ;  the  fame 
thing  being  meant  by  the  fervants'  being  fent  into 
the  high-ways  as  is  meant  by  a  net's,  being  call 
into  the  fea.  And  the  reader  will  eafily  obferve, 
that  the  fame  thing  is  meant,  by  gathering  togeth- 
er all,  as  many  as  were  found,  both  bad  and  good, 
as  is  meant  by  the  net's  gathering  of  every  kind. 
And  the  man  who  had  not  a  wedding  garment, 
in  the  parable  of  the  marriage,  anfwers  to  the  had 
in  the  parable  of  the  net ;  and  the  binding  of  the 
man  and  cafting  him  into  utter  darknefs,  anfwers 
to  the  cafting  of  the  bad  fifli  away. 

But  let  us  look  diligently,  that  wc  may  find  who 
were  reprefented  by  bad  fifh,  in  one  parable,  and 
by  a  man  who  had  not  a  wedding-garment,  in  the 
other. 

I  ft.  By  wedding-garment  I  underftand  the 
righteoufnefs  of  Chritt,  of  which  I  fpoke  in  notes 
on  chap.  ix.  16. 

2d.  The  garment  which  was  not  accepted  as  a 
wedding-garment,  was  the  garment  which  we 
found  in  notes  laft  referred  to,  w'lich  was  prepared 


Kotes  on  the  Parables*  97 

by  putting  a  piece  of  new  cloth  to  an  old  gannait 
whereby  the  rent  in  the  old  garment  was  made  ivorfe, 

3d.  By  coming  to  the  wedding,  in  the  one  par- 
able, and  being  caught  in  the  net_^  in  the  other, 
fignify  coming  into  the  open  profefhon  of  chrif- 
tianity.  Now  behold  the  group  !  Here  are  many 
crying,  Lord  !  Lord  !  but  not  difpofed  in  heart  to 
do  the  will  of //■:  Father,  Here  are  multitudes  who 
have  been  at  the  trouble  of/>^/<:/;/«^  up  a  righteouf- 
nefs,  by  depending  on  the  rightcoufnefs  of  Chrift 
in  conjunction  with  their  own  :  Tlie  fiihcrs  of  men 
have  caught  of  every  kind,  and  now  comes  the 
divifion.  Chriflians  by  profcfTion,  wlio  know 
nothing  of  the  all  renovating  pov/er  of  divine 
grace,  who  call  Jefus  Lord,  but  depend  on  works 
o£  their  own  for  acceptance  with  God,  are  in  a 
worfe  fituation  than  thofe  who  make  no  profeiTum 
at  all ;  and  we  may  fay  to  fuch,  as  Chrift  faid  to 
the  pharifees  and  fcribes,  "  Publicans  and  harlots 
go  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  before  you.*' 

Being  caft  away,  in  one  parable,  and  being  caft 
into  utter  darknefs,  reprefentcd  in  the  other,  fhows 
tlie  defpairing  fituation  into  wliich  the  hypocrite 
is  reduced  by  the  perilhing  of  hivS  hope.  But  that 
the  reader  may  have  a  Icriptura!  kiK)wlcdge  of 
tke  confequencc  arifmg  from  a  deftrnciion  of  this 
falfe  rigfeteoufnefs,  he  will  be  fo  careful  as  to  turn 
to  the  I  ft  epiftle  of  Paul  to  the  Corinthians  iii.  1 1, 
&c.  where  we  find  that  thofe  v/ho  fuflfercd  the  lofs 
of  their  own  works,  (which  are  reprefented  by 
hay,  w^ood  and  ftubble)  by  fire,  arc  faved  by  that 
fame  fire. 

ILLUSTRATION. 
As  It  IS  conceived  that  the  notes  make  the  main 
particulars   of  the  foregoing  parables  evident  and 


98  l<otes  on  the  Parables, 

plain  to  the  underilanding  of  the  reader,  the  fol- 
lowing illuftration  will  be  directed  to  fliow  the 
meaning  of  the  application  made  by  Chrift,  of  the 
parable :  See  Matthew  xiii.  49,  50.  "  So  fhall  it 
be  at  the  end  of  the  world  :  The  angels  fliall  come 
forth,  and  fhall  fever  the  wicked  from  among  the 
juft,  and  fhall  caft  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire : 
There  fhall  be  w^ailing  and  gnafliing  of  teeth.'* 
This  furnace  of  fire  is  generally  underftood  to 
iignify  a  {la,te  of  never  ending  torment  in  the  fu- 
ture world.  This  wailing  and  gnaihing  of  teeth 
is  fuppofed  to  indicate  the  forrows  and  pains  af 
this  ftate  of  torment. 

On  the  contrary,  the  foregoing  notes  fuggeft 
that  this  furnace  of  fire  is  a  ilate  of  purification, 
as  reprefented  by  St.  Paul  to  the  Cor.  in  his  ifl 
epifile,  3d  chap.  1 1,  &c.  where  he  fpeaks  of  a  trial  j| 
of  every  man's  works  by  fire.  This  wailing  and 
gnafliing  of  teeth  will  be  found  to  indicate  the 
Situation  of  the  mind  in  confequence  of  enduringj 
the  lofs  fufiained  by  this  purifying  fire. 

With  a  view  to  caft  fcriptural  light  on  this  fub- 
jecl,  it  may  be  well  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the 
fcripture  uie  of  thefe  words. 

ift.  Of  a  furnace  ;  fee  Prov.  xvii.  3.  "  The 
fining  pot  is  for  filver,  and  the  furnace  for  gold : 
but  the  Lord  trieth  the  hearts."  Deut.  iv.  20. 
"  But  the  Lord  hath  taken  you,  and  brought  you 
forth  out  of  the  iron  furnace,  even  out  of  Lgypt, 
to  be  unto  him  a  people  of  inheritance,  as  ye  are 
this  day."  Ezek.  xxii.  18 — 22.  "  Son  of  man, 
the  houfe  of  Ifrael  is  to  me  become  drofs  ;  all 
they  are  brafs,  and  tin,  and  iron,  and  lead,  in  the 
midft  of  the  furnace  ;  they  are  even  the  drofs  of 
filver.  Therefore  thus  faith  the  Lord  God,  be- 
caufe  ye  are  all  become  drofs,  behold  therefore,  I 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  99 

yjvi\[  gather  you  into  the  midfl  of  Jerufalem.  As 
tiiey  gather. filver,  and  brafs,  and  iron,  and  lead, 
and  tin,  into  the  midft  of  the  furnace,  to  blow 
the  fire  upon  it,  to  melt  it  ;  fo  will  I  gather  you 
in  mine  anger  and  in  my  fury,  and  1  will  leave 
you  there,  and  melt  you.  Yea,  1  will  gather  you, 
and  blow  upon  you  in  tlie  fire  of  my  vv-rath,  and 
ye  fliall  be  melted  in  the  midil  thereof.  As  filver  is 
'melted  in  the  midil:  of  the  furnace,  fo  {hall  ye  be 
melted  in  the  midft  thereof ;  and  ye  fhall  know- 
that  I  the  Lord  have  poured  out  my  fury  upon 
you."  It  may  be  well  to  notice  that  in  the  above 
reprefentation  of  the  houfe  of  Ifrael,  there  appears 
to  be  much  drofs,  fome  brafs,  fome  tin,  fome  lead, 
fome  iron,  and  fom.e  filver.  The  occafion  of  melt- 
ing them  in  the  furnace  is  evidently  to  feparatc 
the  pure  metal  from  the  drofs.  Gen.  xv.  17, 
"  And  it  came  to  pafs  when  the  fun  went  down, 
and  it  was  dark,  behold  a  fm.oking  furnace,  and 
a  burning  lamp,  that  paiTed  between  thofe  pieces." 
This  fmoking  furnace  fiiew  to  the  father  of  many 
nations,  the  trials  and  afflictions  through  which 
his  children  would  pafs;  and  the  burning  lamp 
reprefented  the  light  of  the  covenant  of  grace 
given  to  Abraham  by  promife.  Ifiiah  xlviii.  10, 
*'  Behold,  I  have/efined  thee,  but  not  with  filver  : 
I  have  chofen  thee  in  the  furnace  of  afHlc1:ion.'* 

The  proper  ufe  of  a  furnace  is  to  refine  and  pu- 
rify, and  this  agrees  pcrfedly  with  the  reprefen- 
tation given  by  St.  Paul  in  Cor.  as  before  noticed, 
Ic  is  true  that  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon 
had  a  furnace  which  he  den.;ned  for  a  difFerent  ufe, 
which  was  only  to  compel  the  people  to  worfliip 
the  image  which  he  had  fet  up  on  the  plains  of 
Dura,  or  to  deftroy  them  in  cafe  of  difobedience  ; 
and  that  the  king  of  fpiritual  Babylon  fhould  have 


100  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

a  fitniiar  invention  to  compel  people  to  worOiip- 
the  image  which  he  has  fet  up,  is  rcafonable  en- 
ough to  fuppofe  ;  but  that  the  true  God  fhould  be 
lb  exactly  like  tlie  king  of  the  bottomlefs  pit,  is 
not  only  unieafbnable  but  unfcripturaL 

id  C3i-  wailing.  See  Eilh.  iv.  3.  "  And  in 
every  province  whitherfoever  the  king's  com- 
mandment and  his  decree  came,  there  was  great 
mourning  among  the  Jews,  and  fading,  and  weep- 
ing, and  v/ailing ;  and  many  lay  in  fackloth  and 
allies  1"  Ihis  weeping  and  wailing  was  n(;t  for 
i-ever  ending  mifery.  Jerem.  ix.  19.  "  For  a 
voice  of  wailing  is  heard  out  of  Zion,  how  are 
wz  fpoiled  i"  Nothing  here  about  an  endlefs  mif- 
ery. Amos  V.  16.  has  been  noticed  before,  and 
correfponds  with  Rev.  xviii.  (5,  16,  &c.  "  The 
merchants  of  thefe  things,  which  were  made  rich 
by  her,  flrall  Rand  afar  off  for  fear  of  her  torment, 
weeping  and  wailing,  and  faying,  alas,  alas !  that 
great  city,  that  was  clothed  in  fine  linen,  and  pur- 
pie,  and  fcarlet,  and  decked  with  gold,  and  pre- 
cious flones,  and  pearls  i  for  in  one  hour  is  fo  great 
riches  come  to  nought." 

Thefe  riches  of  myilery  Babylon,  by  which  her 
merchants  v^^ere  made  rich,  are  the  religious  myf- 
teries  and  dogmg.s  of  "the  anti-chriflian  church. 
This  city  is  to  be  burned  with  the  fire  of  purify- 
inp"  truth;  and  while  thofe  m^erchants,  who  have 
lived  deliciouily  by  the  fales  of  thofe  myile- 
ries  of  iniquity,  fee,  to  their  utter  confufion  and 
mortification/all  thofe  riches  comting  to  nought, 
thev  bev/ail  tlicir  fate  in  bitter  lamentations,  and 
cry  out  religion  is  coming  to  an  end! 

This  waiiing  feems  a  very  natural  incident  to  a 
circumftanceli'Se  that  defcribed  by  St.  Paul  to  the 
Corinthians,  where  he  fays,  "  if  any  man's  work 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  loi 

be  burnt,  he  ihall  fuffer  Icfs."  When  a  man  luf- 
fers  the  lofs  of  what  he  efteems  great  riches,  by 
the  ail  devouring  eiemcnt  fire,  when  he  lees  the 
flames  riling  from  all  his  treafures,  which  he  by 
no  means  conceived  were  combullibie,  v/aiiing 
and  bitter  lamentations  are  very  natural  conlc- 
quences.  But  who  can  deicribc  tlie  traniition  of 
the  defpairing  mind  on  difcovering  that  this  de- 
vouring element  is  working  his  greateft  poiTible 
benclit.  *^  But  he  himfclf  fliali  be  faved  :  yet,  fo  as 
by  fire.''- 

3d.  Of  gnalliing  the  teeth.  See  Pfalms  cxii.  10. 
'•  The  wicked  fliali  fee  it,  and  be  grieved  ;  he  fhail 
gnafli  with  his  teeth,  and  mek  away  :  the  deiire 
of  the  wicked  fliall  periih."  This  grieving  and 
gnafliing  of  the  teeth  of  the  wicked  is  becaufe 
of  the  exaltation  of  the  horn  or  power  of  the 
righteous.  See  the  context,  "  He  hath  difpcrfed  ; 
lie  hath  given  to  the  poor ;  his  righteoufnefs  en- 
dureth  forever  j  his  horn  fhall  be  exalted  with 
honor.^' 

Who  ar^  the  v/icked  who  are  grieved  becaufe 
■  the  Saviour,  who  is  the  righteous,  has  given  to  the 
poor  ?  Who  were  the  wicked,  who  gnafhcd  their 
teeth  on  Chrift.  becaufe  he  v/as  a  friend  to  publi- 
cans and  fmncrs  ?  Anfwer,  it  Vv^as  thofe  v/ho  view- 
ed themfelves  righteous,  and  condemned  others. 

1  he  Saviour  ipeaks  again  in  the  35rh  Pfalm,  i6, 
<  <«With  hypocritical  mockers  in  feafts,  they  gnafl^ed 
upon  me  with  their  teeth."  '  When  Steplen 
touched  the  fire  of  divine  truth  to  the  com.buif- 
ible  righteoufnefs  of  the  high  priefts,  it  produced 
this  gnalhing  of  teeth.-  See  i\cls  vii.  51 — 54. 
"  Ye  lliff-neckcd  and  uncircumcifed  in  heart  and 
ears,  ye  do  always  refift  the  Holy  Ghoil  :'  As  ycur 
fathers  did,  fo   do  ye.     WTiich  of  the   prophets 


1C2  Notes  en  the  Parable:}, 

have  not  your  fathers  perfecuted  I  and  they  have 
ilain  them  which  fiiev\xd  before  of  the  corning  of 
the  juO;  one ;  of  whom  ye  have  been  nov\  the  be- 
trayers  and  murderers  :  who  have  received  the 
law  by  the  difpofition  of  Angels,  and  have  not 
kept  it.  When  tliey  heard  thele  things  they  were 
cutto  the  heart,  and  they  guajhcd  on  bim  wUh  their 
teeth,**  Why  did  they  gnafh  on  Stephen  with 
their  teeth  ?  Becaufe  he  told  them  the  truth,  and 
they  could  not  withftand  his  words.  The  hio^h 
priefts  had  Stephen  ftoned,  to  gratify  their  relig- 
ious rage,  and  fo  it  has  been  in  all  ages  of  the 
Jewifli  and  Chriftian  churches,  whtre  the  pnefts 
had  powder,  they  have  not  only  gnaflied  on  thofe 
who  told  them  the  truth,  but  they  have  perfecut 
ed  and  put  ihem  to  death.  Havino;  now  loft  the 
civil  power,  they  who  are  zealous  in  the  anti 
chriftian  and  Babylonifli  mylleries,  can  only  gna 
with  their  teeth,  on  thofe  who  fet  lire  to  the 
combuftible  treafures.  Ihe  author  of  thefe  illuC 
trations  has  paft  wntnefled  a  fcene  of  this  nature, 
which  took  place  between  two  profeiied  rniniilcrs 
of  Jefus  ChriiL  One  is  a  laborer  in  the  minil- 
tration  of  life,  and  the  other  a  zealous  la 
in  the  miuiftration  of  death  and  endlefs,  unmerci 
ful  punifhmcnt.  They  meet  in  fpiritual  w^arfar 
and  the  following:  are  the  circumftances  of  t 
coiittft.  C.  the  minifter  of  condemnation,  alkei 
B.  the  minider  of  life,  if  he  were  not  willing 
allow  that  God  has  a  riglit  to  do  what  he  wi' 
with  his  own  ?  B.  anfwered  in  the  ailirmatlve 
and  added,  that  he  believed  that  God  not  on 
has  a  right  to  do  what  he  will  with  his  own,  b 
that  he  actually  will  perform  it.  To  this  C.  al 
agreed.  Thus  far  thefe  two  watchmen  fliw  e 
to  eye:  thus  far  they  appeared  like  loving  brt^ 


he 

I 


Notes  on  the  P arables  103 

thers.  I  rejoiced  in  my  heart  to  fee  them  thus 
ai^ree,  and  began  to  caft  in  my  mind  how  good 
and  how  plcaCant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  to- 
gether in  unity.  But  I  found  fomething  very 
different  to  attract  my  attention.  The  moment 
B  called  for  the  fcriprure  authority,  to  ihow  and 
determine  what  the  will  of  God  is  refpecting  the 
world  of  mankind,  C-  difcovered  evident  tokens 
of  embarrallment,  and  fecmed  rather  confufed. 
After  waiting  a  proper  time  for  C.  to  decide  the 
queftion,  which  iic  did  not  attempt  to  do,  B. 
bro'c  the  teitiniony  to  the  purpofe,  Ihewing  from 
St.  PauTs  exhortation  to  Timothy  that  God  will  have 
all  men  to  befavcd  and  io  come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  C,  immediately  attempted  to  avoid  this 
pcnnted  weapon,  by  iliying  that  the  word  ail  might 
not  mean  the  whole.  B.  (lill  directed  the  point  of 
the  weapon  to  its  objccf,  by  obferving  that  as  the 
apoille  ufed  this  fi:1  to  prove  the  propriety  of 
prjyhjg  for  aU  men,  it  was  plain  that  God  will 
liave  as  many  fived  as  it  is  right  to  pray  for.  C. 
being  in  the  habit  of  praying  for  all  men  without 
exception,  as  all  anti-chriftian  minifters  do,  mere- 
ly out  of  cuftom,  he  could  nor  avoid  a  wound  ; 
but  on  receiving  it,  tacked  directly  about,  and 
fupjgefted  that  the  word  wdl  might  not  mean  an 
eiFeclive  will,  fo  as  to  infure  tlie  accomplifhment 
of  the  facl  fet  up.  But  here  was  no  place  of  il^fety, 
for  B.  having  in  his  hand  a  fword  which  would 
cur  one  way  as  well  as  the  other,  did  not  fall  to 
m:\ke  it  do  io,  by  obferving  that  this  will  muil:  be 
abioiute  enough  to  lender  it  proper  to  pray  for 
all  without  exception,  to  which  C.  could  do 
no  leis  than  accede.  Then  B.  prefented  this  una- 
voidable conciufion,  if  the  will  of  God,  in  the 
fklvation    of  all  men,  be  abfolute  enough  to  juf- 


1 04'  Botes  on  the  Parables, 

tify  our  praying  for  all  without  exception,  it  mult 
be  abfolute  enough  to  juftify  our  believing  for  all 
without  exception,  as  whatfoever  is  not  of  faith 
is  fm.  By  this  time  the  tinder  had  received  a  fpark, 
a  ray  of  light  lit  on  the  hypocrify  of  praying  for 
the  falvation  of  thofe,  whom  he  contended  were 
deftined  for  endlefs  mifery.  C.  was  all  agitation 
and  manifefted  the  real  fpirit  of  the  high  priefls 
who  gnafliedon  Stephen  with  their  teeth,  becaufe 
they  could  not  withftand  the  wiiHom  of  his  words. 
^J  here  is,  befure,  fome  difference  in  outward  cir- 
cumftances,  between  the  pharifees  of  ancient  and 
modern  times,  but  there  is  no  difference  of  doc- 
trine, fpirit  or  temper. 

As  the  ancient  pharifees  believed  that  God  had 
no  mercy  for  thofe.  whom  they  called  wricked,  fo 
they  had  no  mercy  themfelves  ;  and  this  is  the 
cafe,  and  has  been  in  all  ages  of  the  world.  And 
as  it  is  the  nature  of  truth  to  cafb  out  darknefs,  fo 
thofe  whofe  light  is  darknefs,  are  forely  afllifted 
when  the  true  light.  Ihines,. 


PARABLE  XIX. 

'♦Therefore  is  the  kingJom  of  heaven  likenid  mito  a  certain- 
king,  which  would  take  account  of  his  fervants.  And  when 
he  had  begua  to  reckon,  one  was  brought  unta  him,  which 
owed  hirn  ten  thoufand  talents  :  bat  forafmuch  as  he  had 
not  to  pay,  his  lord  ccraroanded  him  to  be  fold,  and  his  wife 
and  children,  and  all  that  he  had,  and  paynnent  to  be  K3;ide. 
The  fervant  therefore  fell  down,  and  worfiiipped  hira,  faying, 
Loid,  have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  ihee  a!l.  Then 
the  lord  of  that  fervant  was  moved  with  companion,  2nd 
loofed  hitn,  and  forgave  him  the  debt.  Bat  the  fioie  fervant 
Trent  cut,  and  found  one  of  his  fellow  fervants,  which  owed 
him  an  hundred  pence  j  and  he  laid  hands  on  him,  and  took 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  105 

him  by  the  throat,  fiiying,  Pay  me  thnt  thou  oweft»     And 

his  fellow  fervaiit  fell   down  at  his  f;et,  and  befcuj^ht  him, 

faying,  Have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee  all.  And 

he  woul.J  not  :  bat  went   ?r.d  caft  hiir.  inro   prifon,  till  he 

(hould  p.iy  the  debt.      So  when  his  fellow  fcrvants  U^  what 

W4S  ^onQi  they  were  very  foriy,  and  ca.ne  and   told  unto 

their  lord  all  that  was  done.     Tncn  his  Jord,    after  that  he 

had  called  him,  faid  unto  him,*f^^hou  wicked  fervant,  I 

forgave     thee    all    that   debt,    bccaufe  thou    defiredft  me  : 

Shouldeft  not  thou  alfo  h'-ive  had  comp;,(Ilon  on  thy  fellow- 

ferv  .nt,  even  as   I   had    pity    on   thee?    And   his   lord   wa« 

wroth,  and  deliveied  him  to  the  tormentors,  till  he  ihuuld 

pay  ull  thit  was  due  unto  him." 

Mat.  xviii.  23  —  34. 

THE  reader,  by  obferving  the  converfation 
between  Chrift  and  his  difciples  which  immediate- 
ly precedes  this  parable,  will  learn,  that  the  parable 
was  intended  to  enforce  the  neceirity  of  forgiving 
one  another. 

The  particulars  of  this  parable,  I  ftate  thus : 

liL  i  he  great  debt,  which  the  fmner  owes  by 
reafin  of  tranfgrellion,  is  reprefented  by  a  fervant's 
owing  his  lord  ten  thoufand  talents. 

2d.  The  impofTibility  of  a  iinner's  atoning  for, 
or  purifying  himfelf  from  fin,  is  figniiied  by  the 
fervant's  having  not  to  pay. 

3d.  The  demand  for  vengeance  on  the  foul, 
made  by  the  law,  through  the  medium  of  a  defiled 
and  guilty  confcience,  is  m.eant  by  the  lord's  com- 
manding the  fervant,  his .  wife,  children,  and  all 
that  he  had,  to  be  fold,  and  payment  to  be  made. 

4th.  A  humble  and  contrite  fpirit,  and  its  fer- 
vent fupplication  for  pardoning  mercy  and  divine 
clemency,  is  lignified  by  the  fervant's  billing  down 
and  defiring  patience,  and  even  forgivenefs  of  the 
debt; 


10  6  Notes  en  the  Parables* 

5th.  The  condefcenfion  of  the  Father  of  all  mer- 
cies  in  forgiving  a  repenting  finner,  is  fhown  by 
the  lord's  \oohng  the  fervant  and  letting  him  go, 
having  forgiven  him  the  debt. 

6th.  The  accountability  in  which  men  ftand  one 
to  another,  and  the  poflibility  of  their  violating 
the  truft  in  which  /.hey  are  placed,  is  (hown  by 
the  forgiven  fervant 's  going  out  and  finding  one 
of  his  fellow-fervants  who  owed  him  an  hundred 
pence. 

7th.  Tranfgreilion   againft  the  pure  principles 
and  dictates  of  that   grace   by  which  the  foul  is 
made  free  from  condemnation,  is  fignified  by  the 
unforgiving  temper  of  mind  manifefted  in  the  laft. 
mentioned  creditor  towards  his  fellow-fervant. 

8th.  The  forrow  of  heart,  felt  by  the  true  dif- 
ciples  of  Chrift,  at  beholding  fuch^  a  violation  of 
the  pure  principles  of  chriftianity,  is  meant  by  the 
forrow  of  the  feliow-fervants. 

9th.  That  chriilians  ought  to  make  known  to- 
God  fuch  a  fault,  by  the  fpirit  of  humiliation  and- 
prayer,  rather  than  to  fancy  themfelves  arbiters  of 
others' offences,  is  intended  by  thofe  fellow-fer- 
vants coming  and  telling  their  lord   of  the  difa- 
greeable  circumflance  which  had  happened. 

loth.  That  thofe,  who  have  received  fealing.; 
manifeflations  of  divine  mercy  in  the  forgivenefs 
of  fin,  ought,  according  to  the  forgivenefs  which 
they  have  obtained,  to  forgive  their  brethren  of 
the  human  race  all  their  trefpalles ;  lliewing  to 
others-the  fame  favor  which  all  Hand  in  infinite 
reed  of  receiving  from  Godj  is  fhown  by  the 
lord's  faying  to  the  forgiven^  but  unforgiving  fer- 
vant, "  Shouldeil:  not  thou  alfo  have  had  compaf- 
fion  on  thy  fellow-fervant,  even  as  \  had  pity  on 
thee  ?" 


i 


Noies  on  the  Parables,  107 

nth.  That  God  will  call  to  an  account  and  fe- 
-verely  chaflife  his  children  who  wickedly  depart 
from  the  grace  which  they  have  received,  we  un- 
derftand  by  the  lord's  committing  the  undutiful 
fervant  to  the  tormentors. 

1 2th.  lliat  although  in  mercy  we  may  obtain 
pardon,  or  forgivenefs  of  the  awful  debt,  written 
as  with  the  pen  of  iron,  and  with  the  point  of  a 
diamond  on  the  tablets  of  our  ginlty  hearts  ;  yet, 
it  does  not  fecure  us  from  contracting  other  debts  ; 
for,  it  is  made  evident  in  our  text,  that  though 
the  ten  thoufand  talents  were  forgiven,  and  the 
fervant  could  not  be  called  upon  therefor,  the  debt 
being  difcharged  ;  yet,  for  his  cruelty  to  his  fel- 
lov/-fervant,  his  lord  committed  him  to  the  tor- 
mentors until  he  fliould  pay  all  that  was  due  to 
him.  Now  it  is  evident,  that  this  debt  is  new, 
and  of  that  kind  which  the  fervant  could  pay, 
which  is  {imply  to  forgive  his  fellow-fervant.  i\nd 
it  ought  to  fmk  deep  into  our  minds,  that  our 
heavenly  Father  will  do  by  us  all  as  the  lord  did 
by  his  fervant,  if  we  do  not,  from  our  hearts,  for- 
give every  man  his  brethren  their  trefpalies. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

Becaufe  it  is  faid  in  the  parable,  "  And  his  lord 
was  wroth,  and  delivered  him  to  the  torm.entors, 
till  he  fliould  pay  all  that  was  due  unto  him,"  it 
has  been  fuppofed  that  this  muft  intend  never  end- 
ing punifliment,  as  it  is  fuppofed  that  the  fervant 
can  never  pay  what  is  due.  If  this  be  the  true 
meaning  of  the  text,  it  is  evident  that  the  difci- 
ples  of  Jefus  wxre  expofed  to  this  never  ending 
punifliment  ;  for  it  was  to  them  the  parable  was 
fpoken,  and  it  was  to  them  that  Jefus  applied  it, 
faying,  "  So  likewifc  fliaU  my  heavenly  father  do 


io8  Indies  on  the  Parables, 

alfo  unto  you,  if  ye  from  your  hearts  forgive  not 
every  one  his  brother  their  trefpafles.'*  If  the  dif- 
ciples  of  Jefus  Chrift  were  expofed  to  never  end- 
ing punifhment  for  the  offence  of  an  unforgiving 
moment,  it  may  be  juft  to  conclude  that  not  only 
they,  but  every  individual  of  the  human  race,  will 
be  thus  puniflied,  as  it  is  not  reafonable  to  fuppofe 
that  any  are  clear  from  fuch  a  character.  All 
have  finned  and  come  Ihort  of  the  glory  of  God. 
All  have  come  fliort  of  loving  their  neighbors  as 
themfelves.  But  the  foregoing  parable  was  evi- 
dently  defigned  to  teach  real  chriftians  the  neceili- 
ty  of  tl^e  exercife  of  the  fpirit  of  forgivenefs.  See 
the  introduclion,  verfe  21,22.  "  Then  came  Peter 
to  him,  and  faid,  Lord,  how  oft  fhall  my  brother 
fin  agitinfl:  me,  arid  I  forgive  him  ?  till  feven  times  ? 
Jefus  faith  unto  him,  I  fay  not  unto  thee,  until 
feven  times,  but  until  feventy  tim.es  feven."  Then 
Jefus  introduces  the  parable,  with  reference  to  what 
he  had  told  Peter,  faying,  "  Iherefore  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  likened,"  ^c.  This  chriilian  duty 
is  urged  by  St. Paul :  Eph.iv.31,32.  "Let  all  bitter- 
nefs,  and  wra- h^  and  anger,  and  clamor^  and  evil 
fpeaking,  be  put  aw^ay  from  you,  wdth  all  m.alice : 
and  be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  tender  hearted, 
forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God  for  Chrift's 
fake  hath  forgiven  you."  Such  is  the  imperfec- 
tion of  our  prefent  ftate,  and  fuch  are  the  various 
circumflances  to  which  we  are  incident,  that  fo 
far  from  feeling  himfelf  fecure  from  fin,  the  chrif- 
tian  ought  to  be  continually  guarded  on  every 
fide,  'i  he  knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jefus, 
and  the  raith  and  hope  which  the  gcfpel  infpires"? 
fo  far  from  taking  away  our  m.oral  obligations,  or 
lefTcning  our  duty,  they  are  extended  and  multi- 
plied in  the  fame  ratio  as  the  mind  is  enlarged. 


Iseies  on  the  Parables.  109 

The  general  fentiment  of  divines,  that  believers  in 
Chrill  can  fin  with  leis  expenfe  to  themlelves  than 
iinbehevers,  is  unfcriptural  as  well  as  unreafonable. 
It  may  be  proper  to  afk,  if  the  belief  of  the  gofpel 
removes  any  moral  duty  or  obligation  to  which  a 
man  feels  himfelf  holden  before  he  is  a  believer  ia 
the  gofpel  ?  The  anfwer  muil  be  in  the  negative. 
Is  it  not  a  fact,  that  the  knowledge  of  the  grac^of 
God,  which  bringetli  falvation  to  the  foul,  gives 
the  believer  new  leflbns  in  morality,  which  are 
more  extenfive  and  fublime  than  thofe  which  he 
h^ad  learned  before  ?  This  queilion  muft  undoubt- 
edly be  anfwered  in  the  aiiirmativc.  Then  furely 
the  words  of  our  Lord  will  well  apply  in  this  cafe. 
iSee  St.  Luke  xii.  47,  48.  "  And  that  fervant  which 
knew  his  lord's  will,  and  prepared  not  himfelf, 
neither  did  according  to  his  will,  fhall  be  beaten 
v,'ith  many  flripes.  But  he  that  knew  not,  and 
did  commit  things  worthy  of  flripes,  Ihall  be  beat- 
en with  few  flripes.  For  unto  whomfoever  much 
is  given,  of  him  fhall  be  much  required  ;  and  to 
whom  men  have  committed  much,  of  him  they 
will  afk  the  more."  If  there  be  more  committed 
to  the  believer  than  there  is  to  the  unbeliever, 
then  certainly  more  is  required,  and  greater  is  the. 
punifhment  in  cafe  of  difobedience.  But  the  gen- 
eral opinion  maintained  by  the  fchools,  is,  that 
the  fins  of  the  unbeliever  are  of  fuch  a  nature  as 
to  render  it  juft  that  he  fliould  be  punifhed  eter- 
nally, while  there  is  no  danger  of  the  believer  in 
tliis  refpecf,  though  he  commit  much  greater 
crimes  than  the  unbeliever.  On  the  one  hand  we 
have  the  wifdom  of  God,  and  on  the  other  hand, 
we  have  the  wifdom,  I  was  jull  going  to 
fay,  of  man  ;  but  the  text  fays,  "  To  whom  me?i 
have  commiuxd  much,  of  him  they  v/ill  afk  the 
K 


iio  Notes  onjhe  Parables, 

more."  As  I  cannot  fay,  the  wifdom  of  man,  I 
will  leave  the  reader  to  fay,  fo  as  not  to  give  of- 
fence !  See  Titus  ii.  11,12.  "  For  the  grace  of  God 
that  bringeth  falvation  to  all  men,  hath  appeared, 
teaching  us,  that  denying  ungodlinefs  and  v/orldly 
lull,  we  (hould  live  foberly,  righteoufly  and  godly 
in  this  prefent  world."  Now  if  the  grace  of  God 
teach  thus,  is  it  .not  fuppofable  that  we  do  not 
have  this  teaching  unlefs  we  are  taught  it  by  this 
grace  ?  And  if  fo,  then  by  this  teaching  more  du- 
ty is  made  known,  more  is  required,  and  greater 
is  the  puniihment  in  cafe  of  difobedience. 

Perhaps  fome  enquiring  mind  may  wilh  to  alk, 
in  this  place,  whether  the  grace  of  God,  in  ex- 
tending our  knowledge,  by  its  teaching,  and  con- 
fequently  our  duty,  is  a  bleffmg  on  the  whole  ? 
To  this  it  may  be  proper  to  reply,  tTiat  as  all  ra- 
tional happinefs  confifts  with  a  proper  and  juft 
exercife  of  thofe  abilities  and  graces  which  our 
heavenly  Father  has  mercifully  beflowed  on  us, 
the  higher  we  rife,  and  the  broader  we  extend  in 
the  knowledge  of  moral  holinefs,  righteoufnefs 
and  truth,  the  more  happy  we  are  capable  oi  be- 
ing, while  difpofed  to  do  our  mafcers  will. 

That  man  who,  while  he  profelles  to  glory  in 
the  goodnefs  of  God  to  him,  and  to  rejoice  that 
he  has  obtained  a  pardon  of  his  fins  for  Chrift^s 
lake ;  and  at  the  fame  time  condemns  his  neigh- 
bor, efpecially  if  he  cou^.dcmn  him  to  endlefs  mifery, 
is  the  charader  to  which  the  above  parable  juilly 
applies.  In  fuch  an  one  where  is  that  meek  and 
quiet  fpirit  which,  in  the  fight  of  God,  is  an  orna- 
men  of  great  price  ?  Where  is  that  divine  charity 
which  never  faileth  ?  Where  is  that  faith  which 
v/orks  by  love  and  purifies  the  heart  ?  Where  is 
that  hope  which  maketh  not  aihamed,  becaufe  the 
love  of  God  is  Ihcd  abroad  in  the  heart  ? 


I 


^'sole's  on  the  F arables,  i\i- 

Chrlftian  reider,  our  bleffed  Redeemer  has  maiv 
feftcd  in  his  life,  delineated  in  his  preacliing,  and 
required  in  his  commands,  that  duty  which  com- 
ports with  his  doctrine  of  divine  mercy.  He  came 
into  the  world  to  feek  and  to  fave  that  vvhich  was 
loft  :  God  fent  not  his  fon  into  the  world  to  con- 
demn the  world,  but  that  the  world  through  him 
might  be  faved.  God  commiCnded  his  love  to- 
wards us,  in  that,  while  vrc  were  linners  Chrift 
died  for  us.  God  required  no  condition  of  the 
creature,  in  relation  to  the  above  grace  ;  man  did 
not  even  afk  God  to  make  the  promife  of  the  Sa- 
viour, nor  did  God  promife  this  gift  on  condi- 
tions. This  gift  is  the  foundation  of  our  falva- 
tion,  and  this  foundation  is  univerfal.  There  is 
no  exception  JL  the  Jew  and  the  gentile  are  here 
alike  embrace.  The  one  mediator  crave  himfelf 
a  ranfom  for  all  ;  he  tafted  death  for  every  man  ; 
he  was  delivered  for  our  oiFences,  and  rofe  again 
for  our  juftification.  I'hus  God  has  manifeftcd 
pardon,  forgivenefs,  and  juftification  of  all  men, 
to  thofe  who  know  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jefus. 
Here  then  is  the  proper  ground  on  which  the  be- 
liever ought  to  forgive  his  fellov/.fervant,  as  his 
lord  has  torgiven  him.  If,  contrary  to  the  above 
argument,  Gcd  had  revealed,  through  Chrift,  that 
but  a  fmall  part  of  the  human  race  were  embraced 
in  the  difpenilition  of  mercy,  and  that  but  a  few 
were  jufti lied  in  Chrift,  through  the  redemption 
of  his  blood,  then  that  the  charader  of  the  believ- 
er might  be  like  that  of  his  mafter,  he  muft  extend 
forgivenefs  in  the  fame  limited  circle.  And  though 
he  obtain  forgivenefs  of  his  many  fins,  even  oi  ten 
ihoufand  talents,  yet  if  he  find  one  of  his  fellow-fer- 
vants  v/ho  owes  him  but  an  hundred  pence,  why 
Ihould  he  forgive  him,  if  he  does  not  believe  him 


1 1 2  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

to  be  a  fubjecl  of  divine  pardon  ?  If  he  believe- 
this  his  feliow-fervant  to  be  an  object  of  eternal 
vengeance,  and  doomed  to  endlefs  torments,  would 
it  not  be  a  light  thing  if  he  fbouid  take  him  by 
the  throat,  faying,  pay  me  that  thou  ov/eft  ?  Sure- 
ly God  does  not  require  us  to  be  more  merciful 
than  himfelf ;  and  as  a  general  tiling,  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  religious  people  copy  the  charac- 
ter which  they  attribute  to  God.  'Ihe  Popiih  in- 
quifition  was  fignificant  of  their  views  of  divinity  \ 
and  every  order  of  profeffing  chriflians  have  fome- 
thing  by  which  it  is  eafy  to  determine  the  char- 
acter of  their  deity.  That  unforgiving  fpirit 
which  people  attribute  to  the  divine  being,  they 
will,  generally,  more  or  lefs,  juftify  in  themfelves. 
But  the  confequences  they  cannot  ^void  :  to  the 
tormentors  they  muft  be  delivered,  until  they  are 
willing  to  forgive  their  fellow-fervants.  Juft  as 
much  unforgivenefs  as  any  foul  poiieffes,  juft  fo 
niuch  torment  it  muft  feel,  and  muft  continue  to 
feel  the  fame,  until  it  ceafes  to  pofTefs  this  unfoD- 
giving  fpirit. 


PARABLE  XX. 
"  For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  that  is  an 
houfeholder,  which  went  out  early  in  the  morning  to  hire 
laborers  into  his  vineyard.  And  when  he  had  agreed  with 
the  laborers  for  a  penny  a  day,  he  fent  them  into  his  vineyard. 
And  he  went  out  about  ihe  third  hour,  and  faw  others  (land- 
ing idle  in  the  market  place,  and  faid  unto  them.  Go  ye  alfo 
into  the  vineyard,  and  whatfoever  is  right  I  will  give  you. 
And  they  went  their  way  Again  he  went  out  about  the 
fixth  and  ninth  hour,  and  did  likewife.  And  about  the 
eleventh  hour  he  went  out,  and  found  others  (landing  idle, 
and  faith  unto  them,  Why  ftand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  ? 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  1 1  % 

They  fliy  unto  him,  liecaufs  no  man  b.it!i  hired  us.  He 
faith  unto  ihem,  Go  ye  a'fo  iuto  the  vineyard,  and  whaifo- 
cvei  Is  ri^ht  that  ihiil  ye  reteive.  So  when  even  was  come, 
the  lord  of  the  vineyard  iaith  unto  his  fteward,  call  the 
laborers,  and  give  them  their  hire,  beginr.ing  with  the  laft 
unto  the  firft.  And  when  ttey  cjn->e  ihil  v.-ert-  iiired  about 
the  elcventli  hour,  they  recei/ed  every  man  a  penny.  But 
when  the  nr(t  came,  they  fupp-f^d  that  they  fnould  have 
received  more  ;  and  they  hkcwife  received  every  man  a 
penny.  And  when  they  had  received  it,  they  murmured 
againftthc  good  man  of  the  houfe,  fiiying,  Thefe  laft  have 
wrcuaht  hut  one  hour,  and  thou  haft  made  them  equal  unto 
us,  v;hiich  have  borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  d.^y.  But 
he -anfwered  one  of  ihem,  and  f.ild,  Friend,  I  do  thee  no 
wrong  :  didft  not  thou  agree  with  me  for  a  penny  ?  Take 
that  thine  is,  and  go  thy  way  :  I  will  give  unto  this  laft, 
even  as  unto  thee.  Is  it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will 
with  mine  own  ?  Is  thine  eye  evil  becaufe  lam  good  ?  So 
the  laft  fiiall  be  firft,  and  the  firft  laft  :  for  many  be  called 
but  few  chofen."  Mat.  xx.  i  — 16. 

THIS  parable  contains  the  meaning  of  the 
words  of  Chrift  in  the  clofe  of  the  former  chapter, 
where  he  faith,  "  But  many  that  are  firfl  fliall  be 
laft,  and  the  laft  (hall  be  firft.*' 

ift.  The  pharifees  are  reprefented  by  the  labor- 
"ers  who  were  firft  hir^d,  who  bore  the  burden  and 
heat  of  the  day. 

2d.  The  difciples  of  Chrift,  whom  he  called  by 
his  grace  from  among  the  publicans  and  iinners, 
are  intended  by  thoft  who  were  fcnt,  or  invited, 
into  the  vineyard  at  the  eleventh  hour. 

3d.  God's  divine  purpofe  in  making  mankind 
equal,  is  intended  by  the  houfeholder's  paying  the 
laborers  all  alike  the  f^me  fum. 
K2 


1 


1 14  Notes  on  ilye  Parables. 

4th.  The  great  objection  which  the  pharifees 
held  againft  Chrift  and  his  doctrine  being  this,  he 
preached  the  fame  favor,  life  and  falvation,  to 
thofe  whom  they  defpifed  for  their  wickednefs, 
and  for  their  vilenefs  looked  on  them  with  utter 
contempt,  as  to  tliemfelves  who  were  fo  holy  in 
their  own  efteem,  as  to  thank  God  that  they  were 
not  like  other  men,  is  meant  by  the  laborers  mur- 
muring at  the  good  man  of  the  houfe,  faying, 
"  Thefe  laft  have  wrought  but  one  hour,  and  thou 
haft  made  them  equal  unto  us^  who  have  borne  the 
burden  and  heat  of  the  day. 

5th.  Ihat  publicans  and  harlots  fliould  enter 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  before  the  fcribes  and 
pharifees,  is  fliown  by  their  receiving  their  money 
lirft  who  were  hired  laft ;  which  anfwers  to  the 
faying  alluded  to,  "  the  laft  fhall  be  firft." 

6th.  That  the  pharifees  would  finally  be  accept- 
ed, is  feen  in  that  thofe  alfo  who  were  jirji  hired 
received  their  penny /^  ;  which  anfwers  to  the 
faying  alluded  to,  "  ihtjirji  Ihall  be  lajh" 

7th.  Ihat  the  pharifees  had  no  reafon  to  find 
fault  at  the  falvation  of  tliofe  whojn  they  called 
finners  above  themfelves,  is  meant  by  the  houfe- 
holdcr's  faying  to  thofe  who  murmured,  "  Friend, 
1  do  thee  no  wrong/' 

8th.  That  the  evil  and  jealous  eye  with  which 
the  felf-righteous  look  on  the  go/pel  falvation  of 
iinners  is  wounded  with  tiothing  but  its  divine  good ne/s^ 
is  fliown  by  the  queftion  alked,  "  Is  thine  eye  evil 
becaufe  I  am  good  V* 

9th.  Of  thofe  who  objecl  to  the  juftice  of  the 
f^-.ivation  of  the  ignorant,  and  thofe  who  are  out 
of  the  way,  the  queftion  is  aiked.  "  Is  it  not  lawful 
for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with  mine  own  ?'' 


Notes  on  the  Parables*  1 1 5 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  reader  has  already  noticed  in  a  digrefiion, 
under  a  former  parable,  fomething  on  the  divine 
authority  of  the  fcriptures,  drawn  from  the  blind- 
neis  of  the  Jews,  which  was  ufcd  as  a  mean  to 
convert  the  gentiles  to  the  gofpel  -y  and  alfo  from 
the  apoilacy  of  the  chriftian  church,  which  will 
be  a  mean  of  the  converfion  of  the  Jews.  This 
argument,  which  was  inferted  by  way  of  digreflion, 
properly  belongs  to  the  illuftration  of  the  prefent 
fubject.  The  reader  is  therefore  referred  to  the 
illuftration  of  parable  6th,  page  42,  where  this 
parable  is  ii'ullrated  as  applying  in  a  national 
fenfe.  But  it  is  well  to  notice  that  a  parable,  the 
primary  meaning  of  which,  may  regard  a  nation, 
or  a  difpenfation,  may  very  juftiy  be  applied  to  mi- 
nor feclions  of  mankind,  to  minor  events  than  the 
difpenfation  of  law,  or  gofpel,  taken  in  their  largeft 
fenfe,  and  even  to  individuals.  The  reafonable- 
nefs  of  thus  varying  the  application  of  parables,  is 
in  the  correfpondence  that  there  is  between  great 
and  fmali  events,  as  we  reckon  them,  between 
large  and  fmall  communities,  or  between  an  indi- 
vidual and  n:iany. 

As  the  great  end  of  all  parables  is  to  convey  the 
truth,  in  a  profitable  manner,  to  the  mind,  the 
parables  ought  to  be  applied  to  individuals  ai  far 
as  they  will  bear,  the  better  that  every  one  may 
receive  benefit  from  what  is  communicated.  For 
inftance,  there  is  a  flriking  correfpondence  between 
the  character  which  the  Jewifh  church  pofleffed, 
when  the  Saviour  was  in  the  flefh,  and  the  char- 
acter which  the  chriftian  church,  in  general,  has 
exhibited  for  many  centuries  paft.  Of  courfe,  a 
parable  which  anfwers  to  the  former  character,  will, 
in  many  inftances,  apply  to  the  latter.     Likewife, 


110  -Notes  on  the  Parables, 

as  there  is  a  refemblance  between  tliofe  two 
churches,  lb  there  is  between  individuals  belong- 
ing to  them,  '1  he  phariiee  who  went  into  the 
temple  to  pray,  who  thanked  God  that  he  was 
not  like  other  men,  efpecially  a  pubhcan  on  whom 
he  had  liis  eye,  and  whom  he  conceived  was  much 
mcr©'\vicked  than  himfelf,  is  as  perfed  a  re(em- 
btance  of  a  fuperftitious  chriftian.  \Vho  thanks  God 
that  he  is  not  wicked  like  his  neighbor,  whom  he 
fuppofes  is  reprobated  to  endlefs  mifery,  as  face 
ani'wers  to  face  in  water. 

The  general  tenor  of  this  parable  being  to  fhow 
the  impartiality  of  the  divine   economy,  and   the 
riches  of  God's  goodnefs  in  making  his  favor  to 
be  equally  adminiftered,  is  an  important  and  well  -| 
directed  argument  againft  the  partial  views  which  ^^ 
men  entertain  of  the  divine  goodnefs,  while  it  alfo 
holds  up  to  view  the  odioufnefs  of  that  fpirit  of 
envy  which  is  ever  wounded  at  the  happinefs  of  "^ 
others.  Perhaps  envy  may  juilly  be  called  the  gall  of 
bitternefs  and  the  bond  of  iniquity  ;  it  is  the  moft  • 
acid  fruit  that  grows  on  the  flock  of  fin,  a  fluid  fo  • 
fubtle  that  nothing  but  the  fire  of  divine  love  can 
purge  it  from  the  foul.  NotVv^ithftanding  the  wants  ' 
and  necefilties  of  thofe  who  came  into  the  vineyard  ' 
at  the  eleventh  hour  were  equal  to  theirs  who  went  ' 
in  in  the  morning,  yet  it  would  have  been   more 
pleafing  to  the  envious  fpirit  of  the  latter,  to  have 
had  the  former  difmifled  with  nothing,  or  next 
to  nothing,  than  to  have  them  receive  as  much  as 
they.     The  three  main  branches  of  this  envy  are    - 
the  following :    ift.  It  views  its   own   works   oi^^ 
righteoufnefs  immenfely  m-eritorious,  and  expecls 
great  reward.     2d.  It  can  fee  little,  or  nothing,  in 
another,  but  occafion  of  cenfure  and  blame,  and 
calculates  on  the  great  difference  which  mufl  in 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  ir/ 

juftice  be  made  between  itfelf  and  another.  3d. 
It  is  ever  murmuring  at  divine  goodnefs,  becaufe 
the  undeferving  receive  as  much  as  the  moft 
worthy. 

Thefe  are  the  reafons  which  rendered  the  gof- 
pel  of  Chrid  io  offenfive  to  tlie  pharifees  of  old, 
and  thefe  are  the  reafons  why  chriftian  phariiees 
have  fo  modified  the  gofpel,  that  it  now  perfeclly 
fuits  their  fpirit,  except  in  the  cafe  of  waiting  un- 
til hereafter  for  the  diiVmclion  to  be  made.  In 
this  world,  we  find  God  to  be  good  unto  all ;  we 
find  that  his  tender  mercies  arc  over  all  his  works  ; 
we  find  him  doing  as  the  bleffed  Jefus  taught  his 
difciples  to  imitate,  fending  his  rain  on  the  jufi: 
and  on  the  unjui^,and  caufing  his  fun  to  fhine  upon 
the  evil  and  on  the  good.  What  then  has  the 
envious  fpirit  of  the  pharifee  got  to  feed  upon  ? 
i\nfwer;  Its  glorious  profpects  in  anticipating  a 
difference  in  the  world  to  come  which  will  com» 
port  with  a  juil  retribution.  Says  the  pharifee, 
is  not  God  a  God  of  juftice?  Will  he  not  rev/ard 
his  creatures  according  to  their  works  ?  Yes,  phar- 
ifee, God  is  a  God  of  juftice,  and  therefore  he 
"  will  give  unto  this  laft  even  as  unto  thee."  Per- 
fectly juft,  and  therefore  *'  the  laft  fliall  be  firft  and 
the  firft  laft."  Juft  and  equal  in  all  things,  and 
therefore,  "  publicans  and  harlots  go  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  before  you." 

If  we  may  indulge  the  thoughts  of  the  mind  a 
moment,  let  us  contemplate  the  vaft  diverfity  of 
laborers  who  are  making  great  calculations  on  the 
high  approbation  they  are  to  receive  in  the  world 
to  come,  above  others.  Jews,  pagans,  mahome- 
tans,  chriftians  of  a  vaft  many  denominations,  all 
right  in  their  own  eyes,  all  exped  the  preference. 
So  fure  are  they  of  this,  that  they  already   fing 


i  1 8  Notes  on  the  F arables, 

their  fongs  of  joy  in  anticipating  their  own  exalta- 
tion over  their  neighbors,  are  daily  breathing  out 
everiafling  vengeance  againil  one  another,  turning 
their  envious  eyes  tov/ards  heaven  to  iecure  a  ver- 
dict in  their  favor.     So  they   go  on   challenging 
each  other  to  meet  at  the- tribunal  of  heaven,  ex- 
ulting in  anticipating  the  diitinclions  which  will 
there  be  made,  to  their  everlafting  joy,  and  to  the 
eternal  confufioif  and  torment  of  each  other.    Ihe 
long   looked    for    day    comes,    and    all   are  fum- 
moned  to  judgment.     With  anxious  expectation 
they  wait,  each  expecting  to  receive  the  approba- 
tion of  the.judge,  each  expecting  that  all  the  reft 
muft  receive  one  everlafting  frov/n,  and  feel  the 
arrows  of  condemnation  forever  faftened  in  their 
hearts  oi  fFuitlefs  forrow.     From  the  throne,  now 
veiled  in  thick  darknefs,  is  heard  a  voice  calling 
to  the  angel  of  the  hrft  covenant,  lirft  to  read  the 
characters  of  this  vait   multitude,   and  then    pro- 
nounce the  fentence  of  law.     The  angel  reads,  All 
have  finned  and  come  Jhort  of  the  glory  of  God  I  'J  here 
is  none  that  undcrjiandeth^   there  is   noTie  that  feeketh 
after  God.      T^ hey  are  all  gone  out  of  the  way ^  they  are 
together  become  unprofitable ;    there  is  none  that  doefh 
good^  no^  not  one,      ^I  heir  throat  is  an  open  fpulchye  ; 
with  their  toiigues  they  have  vfed  deceit  ;    the  poifon  of  i 
afps  is  under  their  lips  :  whofe  mouth  is  full  of  curfing  ^ 
and  bitterncfs  :   Their  feet  are  pwijt  tofhed  blood  :    de- 
f  ruction  and  mifery  are  in  their  zvays  ;  and  the  way  of 
peace  have  they  not  known  :   There  is  no  fear   of  God 
before  their  eyes,     Whui fever  things  the  law  faith.,  it 
faith  to  them  who  are  under  the  law ;  that  every  mouth  ^.| 
may-be  flopped.,  and  all  the  world  may  become  guilty  before  r^k 
God  I  As  if  a  feraph,  on  wings  of  lightning,  p^^ffrnglj 
thro'  the  immenfe  hods  fealed  every  lip,  all  is  pro- 
found fiience.     Now  is  the  time  for  men  to  think-: 


Notes  on  the  T arables,  \  1-9 

heretofore  they  talked.  Let  us  juft  notice  the 
thoughts  or  fomc  in  particular.  Here  Hands  in 
the  front  of  all,  thofe  whofe  labors  have  been  in 
the  miniftry,  from  the  highefl  prelate  down  to 
the  lay  preacher.  Not  one  opens  his  mouth  ; 
but  all  reflect  and  query  as  follows:  The  learned, 
the  reverend  doctor  of  divinity  queries  within 
himfclf,  How  does  that  reading,  which  I  heard 
from  the  mouth  of  the  angel  of  the  firfl  covenant, 
apply  to  me?  Has  my  mouth  been  full  of  curfmg 
and  bitternefs  ?  Surely  I  have  curfed  none  but 
reprobates,  I  have  curfed  none  but  the  ungodly 
firmer  ;  this  I  did  with  a  zeal,  but  I  thought  it 
.was  a  holy  zeal.  With  my  tongue  did  I  ever  ufe 
deceit  ?  Only  when  I  thought  it  would  benefit  my 
church,  or  the  order  in  general  to  which  I  was 
attached.  In  fuch  cafes,  befure,  I  have  mifrepre- 
fented  other  denominations  whom  I  viewed  as 
heretics.  But  now  rifes  the  great  queftion  ;  yes, 
here  it  is  right  before  my  eyes !  Did  I  love  my 
neighbors,  in  thefe  inftances,  as  I  did  myfelf  ?  O 
that  I  could  hide  my  heart !  But  here  it  is  all 
fpread  open.  Had  1  loved  them  thus,  I  fhould  as 
foon  have  curfed  myfelf. 

Here  are  Popes,  Cardinals  and  Bifhcps,  ponder- 
ing on  the  anathemas  pronounced  by  them  againft 
their  brethren  of  different  orders.  I'hefe  words, 
their  feet  are  J-zvift  to  Jhed  bloody  found  dreadfully 
in  their  ears !  Nor  is  there  one  of  this  whole  mul- 
titude who  can  open  his  mouth  to  accufe  his  neigh- 
bor, not  one  to  thank  God  that  he  is  not  like  o- 
ther  men.  Thefe  words,  all  ha've  finned  are  refpon- 
icd^  by  every  heart  in  the  following  language, 
'Father^  I. have  finned^  againji  heaven  and  in  thy  fight 
and  am  no  fnore  iiorthy  to  be  called  thy  fon,  A  voice 
the  fecond  time  from  the  throne,  orders  the  angel 


I20  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

of  the  firfl  covenant  to  read  the  fentence  of  the 
law  on  the  tranfgreffors.  He  reads,  Curfed  ^ 
every  one  lajho  continues  mi  in  all  things  written  in  th$ 
book  of  the  law  to  do  them  !  A  trembling  feizes  every 
guilty  heart,  and  one  defire  now  breathes  forth 
from  every  foul :  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  /inner ! 
A  gladdening  voice  is  now  heard  to  fay,  /  am  he 
that  livcth^  and  was  dead  ;  a  fid  behold  I  am  alive  for^ 
ever  more^  amen  :  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death  : 
I  gave  my f elf  a  ranfomfor  all :  I  was  delivered  for  their 
offences^  and  rofe  again  for  their  jufiifuatioyi :  I  bore 
their  iniquities^  and  by  my  ft  ripe s  they  foall  be  healed : 
I  will  now  finijh  fin^  now  foall  there  be  an  end  of  trayif 
grejfion  :  JSow  will  I  fee  of  the  travail  of  my  foul  and 
be  fatisfied,  A  bleeding  Lamb  is  now  feen  in  the 
midft  of  the  throne  and  of  the  four  beads,  from 
which  there  proceeds  a  riv^r  of  blood,  which 
deluges  all  the  mighty  hofts.  Then  is  there  a 
voice  heard,  faying,  Thefe  are  they  who  come  out  of 
great  tribulation^  and  have  wafloed  their  robes  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  lamb.  And  every  crea- 
ture which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and 
under  the  earth,  and  fuch  as  are  in  the  fea,  and  all 
that  are  in  therij,  heard  I  faying,  blefling,  and  hon- 
or, and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto  him  that  fitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and 


eVer. 


If  in  the  foregoing  remarks,  the  reader  fliould 
meet  with  any  juft  admonitions  againft  the  indul- 
gence of  envy,  curling  and  bitternefs,  which  are 
fo  contrary  to  the  pure  religion  of  Chrilt,  it  is 
hoped  that  profit  may  be  obtained  to  the  further- 
ance of  the  chriftian  charities,  which  forbid  our 
judging  or  condemning  one  another  ;  and  above 
all,,  they  forbid  our  feeling  envious  at  the  prof- 
perity  or  happinefs  of  our  fdlow-creatures. 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  1 2 1 

How  vain  is  that  felf-confidence,  by  which  a 
worm  of  the  duft  is  moved  to  claim  higher  favors 
'<of  his  maker  than  he  is  willing  fhould  be  beftowed 
on  others !  This  vanity  incorporated  into  what 
pafles  in  the  world  for  religion,  has  fpread  its  poi- 
fon  through  all  the  vitals  of  the  church,  and  its 
doctrines  are  bect)me  as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man. 


PARABLE  XXL 

♦*  But  what  think  you?  A  certain  man  had  two  fons ;  and  he 
canae  to  the  firfc,  and  faid,  Son,  go  work  to  day  in  my  vine- 
yard. He  anfwered  and  faid,  I  will  not ;  but  afterwards  he 
repented,  and  went.  And  he  came  to  the  fecond,  and  faid 
likewife.  And  he  anfwered  and  faid,  I  go,  fir;  and  went 
not.  Whether  of  them  twain  did  the  will  of  his  father? 
They  fay  unto  him.  The  firft.  Jefus  faith  unto  them,  Ver- 
ily, I  fay  unto  you,  that  the  publicans  and  ihe  harlots  go  in- 
to the  kingdom  of  God  before  you." 

Mat.  xxI,  28,  29,  30,  31. 

THE  reader  Avill  eafily  difcover  a  fimilarity  be- 
tween this  parable  and  the  former. 

I  ft.  Publicans  and  harlots  are  intended  by  the 
firft  fon,  who  firft  faid  that  he  would  not  go, 
when  he  v/as  commanded,  but  repented,  and  went. 

2d.  The  Scribes  and  Pharifees  are  intended  by 
the  fon  who  profcjfed  to  go  according  to  the  com- 
mandment, but  went  not. 

3d.  Chrift  reduces  the  Pharifees  to  the  neceftity 

of  giving  judgment "againft  themfelves,  by  afking 

them,  "  Whether  of  the  twain  did  the  will  of  his 

\  father  ?"  To  which  they  anfwered,  "  the  firft." 

4th.  Chrift  then  applies  the  parable  to  his  mean- 
ing, faying,  "  Verilv,  I  fay  unto  you,  that  the 
^  publicans  and  harlots  go  into  the  kingdom  of  Gcd  be- 
I   fore  you." 


1 

•  1 


1 2  2  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

5th.  As  It  was  fliown  in  the  former  parable  that 
the  Scribes  and  Pharifees  would  at  hiil  be  accept 
ed,  by  the  murmuring  fervants'  receiving  equ<d' 
with  others,  fo  here  tlie  fame  idea  is  alfo  carried; 
for,  it  could  not  be  well  faid,  that  the  publicans 
and  the  harlots  fhould  go  into  the  kingdom  of 
God  before  the  Scribes  and  the  Pharifees,  provid* 
ing  thefe  were  not  to  enter  after  ibem, 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  propriety  of  accomodating  this  parable  to 
various  circumllances  of  the  like  nature  of  the 
one  to  which  the  Saviour  applied  it,  is  very  evU 
dent,  becaufe  the  fame  fimilitude  would  be  as 
proper  to  be  ufed  now,  as  when  Chrift  was  upon 
earth.  A  fon  who  fliould  refufe,  in  the  firft  in- 
ftance,  obedience  to  his  father's  commands,  butj 
Ihould  afterwards  repent  and  obey,  in  our  day, 
would  be  preferred  to  one,  who  fhould  confent 
to  the  commands,  in  the  firft  inftance,  but  fhould 
afterwards  refufe,  and  with  as  much  propriety  as 
in  the  days  of  Chrift.  So  alfo,  in  the  prefent  day, 
thofe  who  fuftain  a  character  fimilar  to  thole  to 
whom  the  queftion  in  this  parable  was  put,  may; 
be  juftly  compared  to  the  fon  who  went  diredly 
contrary  to  his  profefTion  ;  while  others. who  are; 
novv'  more  particularly  in  the  fituation  of  publicans;, 
and  ftnners,  may  be  preferred  to  the  former,  as  ' 
the  penitent  fon  was  to  his  brother. 

The  characters  to  w^hom  the  Saviour  put  the 
query,  in  the  parable,  are  fpoken  of  in  the  23d' 
verfe,  "  And  when  he  was  conie  into  the  temple, 
the  chief  priefts  and  elders  of  the  people  came  un- 
to him  as  he  was  teaching,  and  faid,  by  what  au-^ 
thority  doeft  thou  thefe  things  ?  and  who  gave 
thee  this  authority  ?     Thefe  chief  priefts  and  elders 


l^otes  on  the  Parables.  1 23 

of  the  people  were  thofe  to  whom  the  Saviour 
fpake,  and  they  were  thofe  whom  he  reprefented 
as  going  directly  contrary  to  tlieir  profeflion. 
They  proFelled  to  know  and  to  do  the  command- 
ments of  God,  and  yet  they  paid  all  their  atten- 
tion to  bring  God's  commands  to  bend  to  their 
vain  and  abominable  notions  and  wicked  tradi- 
tions, by  which  they  made  the  law  void. 

As  nothing  takes  place  without  a  caufe  to  pro- 
duce  it,  we  may   fuppofe  that  there  was  a  caufe 
\^  hich    produced   the   circumftance  here  noticed. 
Nor  is  it  more  difficult  to  determine  the  rcafons 
why  thofe  chief  priells  and  eiders  of  the  Jews  were 
in  fuch  a  fituation,  than  it  is  to  fee  why  m.any  re- 
ligious people  are  now  in  the  fame.     1  he  pure  re- 
ligion of  God,  whether  commended  to  man  in  a 
diipenfation  of  a  law  of  commandments,  a  law  of 
ceremonies,  or  in  the  flill  more  luminous  difpen- 
fation  of  the  gofpel  of  Chrift,  is  in    all  ages   and 
difpenfations    the  fame.     Supreme  love  to  God, 
and  a  love  for  fellow  men  equal  to  that  which  m.an 
has  for  himfelf,  was  all  Vv'hich  the  law  required  or 
the  prophets  taught.     This  love  to  God  and  man- 
kind is  the  divine  fanclity  prefigured  by  the  flia- 
dows  of  the  Levitical  priefthood,  and  is  glorioufly 
manifefted  as  the  fpirit  of  the  gofpel   of  our  fld- 
vation.     To  this  religion  the   carnal  mind  is  en- 
mity, and  its  methods  of  warfare  are  as  uniform 
as  the  enmity  itfelf.     Here  let  us   raife  an  impor- 
tant query,  which,  if  anfwered  correclly,  will  ferve 
to  illuminate  our  fubjcct.      i.   Have  not  religious 
people,  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  profefTed  a  love 

I  and  friendfhip  for  God  ?  Anfwer,  yes.  2.  Have 
Ihey  not  protelfed  a  love  and  regard  towards  their 
fellow  men  ?   Anfwer,  yes.     3.   liow  do  thefe  pro 


fcilioRS  confillwith  their  {landing  in  the  character 


124  ^<^f^^  on  ih^  Parables. 

of  the  Ton  who  faid  he  would  go,  and  did  not  ?  Or 
how  does  it  happen  that  the  carnal  mind,  which  is 
enmity  againft  God,  fliould  make  the  above  pro- 
feflions  ?  Reply,  as  the  carnal  mind  can  never 
love  a  character  which  is  contrary  to  itfelf,  it  al- 
ways reduces  the  character  of  the  divine  bein^ 
down  to  a  correfpondence  with  itfelf,  before  it  cart 
exercile  any  love  towards  it.  When  a  God  i* 
formed,  in  the  imagination,  which  comports  with^ 
the  deiires  of  the  carnal  mind,  then  carnal  minded-^ 
nefs  is  the  true  religion  of  fuch  a  God.  This  re- 
ligion, when  brought  into  operation,  acls  like  the 
carnal  mind,  in  direct  oppofition  to  the  divine  law 
of  love.  Juft  as  much  as  a  perfon  elleems  God, 
and  is  zealous  in  his  caufe,  under  this  deception,, 
jud  io  much  he  exercifes  an  enmity  to  the  true 
God,  and  to  the  true  religion.  If  the  carnal  mind 
be  enmity  againft  God  and  not  fubject  to  his  law, 
then  it  muft  be  hatred  towards  God,  and  hatred 
towards  man,  as  the  divine  law  is  love  to  both. 
Hence  it  is  as  plain  as  demonftr^tion,  that  when- 
ever religious  people  arm  their  God  with  vindic- 
tive vengeance  againft  any  portion  of  his  works, 
they  have  made  him  exactly  according  to  the  pat-' 
tern  of  that  carnal  mind  which  is  enmity  to  GodV 
law,  is  not  fubject  to  it,  neither  indeed  can  be. 
Why  cannot  the  carnal  mind  be  fubjecled  to  the. 
law  of  God?  Anfwcr,  bccaufe  the  God  that  it 
adores  cannot  be  fubjected  to  that  divine  law  "of 
love,  which  requires  us  to  love  our  enemies,  and 
pray  for  thofe  who  perfecute  us. 

There  never  could  exift  a  falfe  religion  in  our 
world,  which  was  deftitute  of  enmity  ;  for  in  the 
firft  place,  a  religion  in  which  there  is  no  enmity 
is  the  wifdom  of  God,  as  defcribed  by  an  apoftle, 
who  fays,  "  1  he  wifdom  which  is  from  above  is 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  125 

i  firft  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and  eafy  to  be 
entreated,  full  of  mercy^  and  good  fruits,  without 
partiality  and  without  hypocrify.     It  is  very   evi- 

I  dent  that  a  wifdom  which  is  full  of  mercy ^  and  im- 
partial,  can  have  no  enmity  againft  any  being  in 
the  univerfe.     Secondly,  a  religion  dellitute  of  en- 

j  niity  would  have  nothing  to  recommend  itfelf  to 
the  carnal  mind,  which  is  enmity.  '1  his  carnal 
minded  religion  w^as    in   high    repute  among  the 

[  chief  priefts  and  elders  of  the  people  of  Ifrael,  in 

[  the  days  of  our  Saviour  ;  this  was  the  vvifdom  of 
the  princes  of  this  world,  which  Hood  in  oppofi- 
tion  to  Chriil,  the  wifdom  of  God.  The  religion 
of  the  chief  prieils  and  elders  taught  them  to  be- 
lieve that  they  were  the  peculiar  favorites  of  heav- 

'  en,  that  they  were  more  holy  and  righteous  than 

I  others  who  did  not  conform  to  their  notions  and 
tradiiions,  and  they  were  fixed  in  the  opinion  that 
G  )d  had  no  regard  to  thofe  whom  they  called  lin- 
r.crs  ;  they  hated  them  themfelveSj  and  rejecicd 
Chriif  becaufe  he  appeared  the  finner's  friend. 
Hieir  love  to  their  reliLnon,  their  devotcdnefs  to 
their  God,  their  zeal  for  that  darling  en  mil  y  which 
rankled  in  their  heaits,  all  led  them  on  to  go  fo 
direcily  contrary  to  their  profeilion,  that  although 
they  believed  in  a  MefiLih,  and  longed  to  fee  him 
manifelled,  yet  they  hated,  delpifed  and  rejected 
him,  and  at  iaft  put  him  to  death.  Ihus  they  fiid 
they  would  go  and  labor  in  God's  vineyard,  but 
in  room  of  doing  this,  they  made  a  God  to  their 
liking,  and  went  and  labored  in  his  vineyard.  On 
the  orher  hand,  thofe  people  who  had  never  cloth- 
ed themfeives  with  the  traditions  of  the  eiders, 
entertained  no  high  opinion  of  their  pcrfonal  ho- 
linefs,  vvhofe  minds  were  moftiy  taken  up  in  thinors 
of  a  worldly  nature,  and  who  had  no  religious 
L  2 


126  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

hatred  fettled  in  their  minds  towards  others,  had  > 
never  profefled  to  underftand  the  myfteries  of  the , 
law,  nor  publicly  covenanted  to  keep  the  com- 
mandments, on  hearing  the  words  of  Jefus,  wha 
fpake  as  never  man  fpake,who  taught  as  one  having 
authority  and  not  as  the  fcribes,  who  proclaimed 
liberty  to  captives,  forgave  the  fms  of  tranfgreflbrs, 
appeared  to  be  a  friend  to  publicans  and  iinners> 
healing  all  their  infirmities,  their  hearts  melted  in-- 
to  penitence  and  love,  and  they  forfook  the  world 
and  followed  after  their  friend  and  Redeemer* 
Thus  thofe  who  did  not  profefs  to  follow  the  way 
of  holinefs,  repented  and  went  into  the  vineyard^ 
and  labored  in  the  works  of  love. 

This  was  equally  true  in  regard  alfo  to  the 
preaching  of  John,  as  the  Saviour  notices,  fee  the 
application,  verfe  31,  32.  "Jefus  faith  unto  them, 
verily  I  fay  unto  you,  that  the  publicans  and  the 
harlots  go  into  the  kingdom  of  God  before  you* 
For  John  came  unto  you  in  the  way  of  righteouf- 
nefs,  and  ye  believed  him  not  ;  but  the  publicans 
and  the  harlots  believed  him  :  and  ye,  when  ye 
had  feenit,  repented  not  afterward,  that  ye  might 
believe  him/'' 

Are  the  things  of  which  we  have  been  treating 
all  done  away  from  our  world,  or  is  their  refem- 
blance  ftill  in  being  ?  Have  the  chief  priefts  and 
elders  of  the  Jews  not  a  foul  on  earth  to  iupport 
their  character  or  defend  their  religion  ?  Is  the 
world  clean  emptied  of  all  thofe  who  thank  God 
that  they  are  not  like  other  men,  who  feel  grate- 
ful that  they  are  not  like  the  publicans  and  linners  ? 
Is  there  not  one  to  vindicate  the  religion  of  the 
carnal  mind  ?  No  one  to  arm  an  almighty  power 
with  enmity  againfl:  mankind  who  are  linners?  Is 
the  world  dciiitute  of  thofe  righteous  people  who 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  1 27 

feel  and  exercife  an  unmerciful  vengeance  towards 
thofe  whom  they  efteem  unworthy  of  the  favor 
which  they  have  merited  ?  Let  the  intolerant 
fpirit  of  thofe  who  profefs  to  underfland  the  myf- 
teries  of  the  gofpel,  and  to  maintain  its  religion  in 
the  world,  give  the  anfwer.  Let  thofe  rife  up  in 
honor  of  the  chief  priefts  and  the  elders,  who 
declare  eternal,  unmerciful  vengeance  againft  thofe 
who  do  not  fubmit  to  their  inventions  and  tradi- 
tions. Let  that  religion  which  is  irreconcilable 
enmity  againft  the  rational  creatures  of  God,  put 
an  end  to  all  fuch  queftions.  He  who  profelTed 
Jefus  was  put  out  of  the  fynagogue,  by  the  chief 
priefts  and  the  elders,  and  whoever  now  profeiles 
that  religion  of  Jefus,  in  which  there  is  no  enmity 
towards  man,  muft  be  turned  out  of  the  church, 
if  he  belongs  to  one.  Thofe  who  lead  in  the  re- 
ligion of  the  carnal  mind  are  an  exact  refemblance 
ot  thofe  to  whom  Jefus  fpoke  this  parable.  Ihey 
fay  by  profeflion,  that  they  will  work  in  the  vine- 
yard of  the  true  God,  but  immediately  we  find 
them  caufing  their  fons  and  their  daughters  to  pafs 
through  the  fire  to  a  God  which  is  the  vanity  of 
their  imaginations.  And  by  making  an  offering 
of  millionb  of  their  fellow-creatures  to  gratify  the 
enmity  and  wrath  of  their  deity,  they  procure 
for  themfelves  confirmation,  which  they  predicate 
on  the  endlefs  mifery  of  thofe  whom  they  have 
thus  offered  up.  Thus  circumftanced,  what  view 
muft  they  naturally  entertain  of  the  doctrine  of 
him  who  came  not  to  condemn  the  world,  but 
that  the  world  through  him  might  be  faved  ;  who 
gave  himfelf  a  ranfom  for  all  to  beteftified  in  due 
time,  who  by  the  grace  of  God  tafted  death  for 
every  man,  who  was  delivered  for  our  offences 
and  raifed  again  for  our  juftification,  who  aboliflies 


128  Notes  on  ihe  Parables. 

enmity,  by  the  blood  oF  his  crofs,  with  a  defign 
to  reconcile  all  things  to  himfclf,  to  whom  is  given 
the  heathen  for  an  inheritance,  and  the  utternioft - 
parts  ot  the  earth  for  a  poikflion,  and  through 
the  redemption  of  wh^.fe  bh)od,  all  who  have  fin- 
ned and  come  (liort  of  the  glory  of  God  are  freely 
juftified  ?  Can  thofe  love  luch  doctrine  who  are 
juftiued  in  their  own  religious  opinions,  by  the 
Jpirii  of  enmity  ?  who  can  entertain  no  idea  of  the 
love  of  God  towards  them,  only  in  the  ratio  as 
he  hates  fomebody  elfe  ?  To  fuch  the  meek,  hum- 
ble fpirit  of  the  lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away 
the  fin  of  the  world,  is  the  moft  offenlive  of  any 
thing  with  which  they  are  troubled.  Like  the 
chief  priefcs  and  elders  of  the  people  of  the  Jews, 
thofe  who  are  foremoft  in  this  religion  of  enmity, 
in  the  prefent  day,  make  great  profeilions  of  god- 
linefs,  of  remarkable  piety,  are  ftricl  in  outward 
ceremonies,  but  their  mouths  are  full  of  curfmg 
and  bitternefs  towards  thofe  who  do  not  comply 
wirh  their  ^religious  opiinons.  Becaufe  their  op- 
pofition  to  the  gofpel  of  ChriU,  is  fo  deeply  rooted 
in  their  religious  fentiments,  it  i&  much  harder  for 
them  to  yield  to  the  felf-denying  doctiine  of  di- 
vine grace,  than  it  is  for  thofe  who  have  no  good- 
nefs  of  their  own  on  which  they  depend.  It  would 
be  erroneous,  no  doubt,  to  fuppofe  that  the  chief 
priefls  and  elders  of  the  people  were,  by  nature, 
more  oppofed  to  the  gofpel  than  publicans  and 
harlots,  as  it  is  evident  that  their  greater  oppofi- 
tioM,  grew  directly  out  of  tiieir  religious  educa- 
tion and  profciTion.  So  in  the  prefent  day,  it  is 
not  becanle  the  chriifian  clergy  are  worfe,  by  na- 
ture, than  other  men,  that  they,  in  general,  are 
fo  iiiuch  more  c^ppoled  to  the  true  fpirit  of  the 
gofpel,  than  other  people.     It  is  evident  enough 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  i£$ 

that  this  greater  oppofition  grows  out  of  their  re- 
ligious education  and  profeilion.  Thefe  chief 
priefts  and  elders  were  honorable  men,  they  were 
eftablifhed  in  a  fyflem  which  gave  them  opportu- 
nity to  receive  honor  one  of  another,  and  this  was 
a  fatal  bar  to  their  believing  in  Chrift.  See  St. 
John  V.  44.  "  How  can  ye  believe,  which  receive 
honor  one  of  another,  and  feek  not  the  honor 
that  Cometh  from  God  only  ?"  It  was  then  confid- 
cred  dilhonorable  to  profcfs  to  be  a  difciple  of  that 
friend  to  publicans  and  fmners  ;  who  ever  did  this, 
of  thofe  who  were  efteemed  honorable  in  the  phari- 
fee*s  religion,  mull  fuffer  great  lofs  of  efteem,  and 
be  clafTed  with  thofe  who  were  held  in  great  con- 
tempt. For  fear  of  this  fcorn,  Nicodemus  and 
many  others  of  the  rulers,  though  they  believed 
on  Jefus,  did  not  confefs  him  left  the  pharifees 
fhould  put  them  out  of  the  fynagogue.  To  be 
put  out  of  the  fynagogue  was  as  dreadful  then  as 
to  be  excommunicated  from  a  church  and  depriv- 
ed of  the  privilege  of  communion,  is  now,  which 
at  prefent  keeps  too  many  from  the  open  profef- 
iion  of  what  they  in  confcience  believe.  Under 
thefe  embarralTing  circumftances,  who  are  the  mofl 
eafily  introduced  to  a  knowledge  and  open  profef- 
fion  of  the  gofpel  of  Chrift?  Anfwer,thofe  who  have 
the  leaft  of  thofe  diliiculties  to  hinder  them.  There- 
fore we  now  hear  from  the  lips  of  our  high  pro- 
feflbrs  and  hoii. arable  divines,  contemptuous  lan- 
guage againft  thofe  who  profefs  to  believe  in  that 
religion  in  which  there  is  no  enmity  againft  man- 
kind. Hence  we  find  but  very  few  of  thofe  who 
ftand  in  the  high  efteem  of  the  carnal  religion  of 
the  day,  willing  to  part  with  the  honors  which 
they  receive  one  of  another,  for  the  diflionorable 
reproaches  of  Chrift.     But  thofe  who  have  never 


130  I^ctes  on  ih^  P arables » 

believed  themfelves  fo  much  better  than  others,  as 
to  fay,  "  ftand  by  thyfelf,  come  not  nigh  me,  for 
I  am  holier  than  thou,**  who  have  none  of  thofe 
religious  honors  to  lofe,  who  are  ah'eady  viewed, 
by  thofe  high  in  favor,  as  reprobates  on  whom  God 
wiil  have  no  more  mercy  than  is  cpnfiftent  with 
the  enmity  of  the  pharifee,  generally  hear  the  gof* 
pel  gladly,  and,  thanks  be  to  God,  many  receive 
the  truth  in  the  love  of  it. 

The  chriftian  reader  is  here  cautioned  againft  a 
fpirit  of  hardnefs  againft  thofe  in  the  prefent  day, 
who  fill  the  place  of  the  chief  priefts  and  elders 
among  the  Jews.  It  has  already  been  hinted  that 
their  oppofnion  to  the  gofpel  growls  out  of  their 
religious  education,  and  this  circumftance  ought 
to  excite  charity,  and  even  to  move  our  pity.  If 
in  the  days  of  Thrift,  thofe  who  were  called  fin- 
ners  and  defpifed  by  the  religious  pharifees,  had 
been  brought  up  and  educated  as  Saul  was,  they 
w^ould  undoubtedly  have  been  as  oppofed  to  the 
gofpel  as  the  chief  priefts  themfelves. 

The  influence  which  our  fchools  have  on  the 
minds  of  you(h,  is  great  and  hard  to  be  refifted. 
A  young  man  of  refpectabie  parents,  who  under 
the  kind  patronage  of  parental  love  and  afFcclions, 
receives  an  education,  which  is  fuppofed  fuitable 
for  the  miniftry,  ftudies  with  a  learned  divine  of 
honorable  rank  in  the  fyftem  of  honor  which  is  at 
the  difpofal  of  the  order,  is  horx^rcd  himfelf  with 
thofe  degrees  in  learning  which  are  highly  efteem- 
ed  in  the  world,  has  many  powerful  ties  to  bind 
him  to  the  traditions  of  the  elders.  How  can  he 
believe  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jcfus  ?  He  can  hardly 
bear  to  hear  a  word  faid  on  a  iubjcct  lb  diftant 
and  contrary  to  his  pioii^  education  ;  much  lefs 
think  of  giving  a  dodrine  a  place  in  his  heart, 


Nofes  on  the  Parables,  1 3 1 

which  is  defpifed  as  an  abominable  herefy,  by  all 
thofe  on  wkom  he  depends  for  his  growing  fame, 
and  defired  additional  honors.  The  difliculties 
under  which,  the  mind  is  confined,  in  fuch  an  in- 
ftance  are  too  numerous  and  too  confiderable  for 
a  heart,  like  the  hearts  of  ail  men  who  love  this 
world,  to  overcome. 

Though  more  has  been  faid  already,  on  this 
paflige,  than  was  intended  in  the  beginning,  it 
feems  improper  to  dilmifs  it  without  makir.g  an 
application  ot  it  to  individuals.  A  profeilion  of 
the  gofpel  of  Chrift  may  be  faid  to  be  arfwering 
as  the  fon  did,  who  faiJ,  "  1  go,  bir ;"  this  was  lo 
far  doing  his  duty,  but  it  was  the  fmalleft  part  of 
it,  and  a  part  which  he  had  much  better  have  neg- 
lected, than  to  neglecl  the  part  which  he  did.  I  e 
did  not  go  according  to  his  proicflion,  but  he  who 
refufed,  afterwards  repented  and  went,  and  was 
prei^ered  to  the  other.  Let  everv  profelfor  of  the 
religion  of  Chrift,  fo  far  apply  this  parable  to  him- 
felf,  as  to  examine  carefully  whither  he  goes  ac- 
cording to  his  profellion. 


PARABLE  XXIL 

**  Heir  another  parable  ;  There  was  a  certain  houfeholder 
which  planted  a  vineyard,  and  hciged  il  round  about,  and 
digj»ed  a  wine  prefs  in  it,  and  built  a  tovrer,  and  let  it  out  to 
hufb-indaien,  j»nd  went  into  a  far  country.  And  when  ihe 
li.ne  of  the  fuii  ^rew  near,  he  fent  his  fervants  to  the  huf- 
ban  ;m.n.  that  they  might  receive  the  fiuits  of  it.  And  the 
hufbiodnnen  look  his  ferv^nts,  and  beat  one,  and  killed 
another,  and  Ooned  another.  Again,  he  fent  o;her  fervants, 
more  th4n  ihc  firl>  :  an  J  th?y  did  unto  then>  likewlfe.  But 
laft  of  a)I,  he  f<fn;  unto  them  hij.  fon,  faying,  They  will  rev 
crence  my  fon.     Lut  when  the   hufbindmen   faw  the  fon, 


132  Nctes  on  the  Parables. 

they  faid  among  llierofelves,  This  u  the  heir  ;  come  let  us 
kill  him,  and  let  tis  feize  on  his  inheritance.  And  they 
caught  hiai  and  caft  him  oui  of  the  vineyard,  and  flew  him. 
When  the  Lord  therefore  of  the  vineyard  comcth,  what  wiH 
he  do  unto  thofe  liufbandmen  ?  They  fay  unto  him,  He 
\^iil  miferably  deOroy  thofe  wicked  men,  and  will  let  out 
his  vineyard  unto  other  hufbandmen,  which  (hall  render  hina 
the  fruits  in  their  feafons  Jcfus  faith  unto  them,  Did  you 
never  read  In  the  fcriptures,  The  ftone  which  ihe  buil<^er8 
rcjefted,  the  fame  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner  ?  this  is 
the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes.  There- 
fore fay  I  unto  yoa,  The  kingdom  of  God  (hall  be  taken 
from  you  and  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits 
thereof."  Mat.  xxi.  33,  to  43. 

I  ft.  THE  legal  difpenfation,  with  the  privi- 
leges thereof,  is  intended  by  the  vineyard  let  out. 

2d.  The  houfe  of  Ifrael,  is  meant  by  the  hufband- 
men  to  vv^hom  the  vineyard  was  let. 

3d.  By  the  time  of  the  truits*  drawing  near,  I 
underftand  the  time  when  that  difpenfation  was 
drawing  to  a  clofe. 

4th.  The  prophets  whom  the  Lord  fent  to  the 
houfe  of  Ifrael,  are  intended  by  thefervants  whom 
the  houfcholder  fent  to  the  hufbandmen  to  receive 
the  fruits  of  the  vineyard. 

5th.  The  treatment  which  the  faithful  prophets 
of  the  Lord  received  of  their  brethren,  the  Jews, 
we  learn  by  the  hufbandmen's  taking  the  fervants 
and  beating  one,  and  killing  another,  and  ftoning 
another. 

6th.  John,  who  was  the  greateft  prophet  ever 
born  of  woman,  and  thofe  who  were  engaged 
with  him  in  his  miniflry,  are  intended  by  the 
fervants  who  were  "  more  than  the  firft  j"  and 
thefe  met  with  like  treatment  as  the  firft. 


i<!otes  on  ihe  Parables.  133 

7th.  Ch  ift  himfeif,  who  was  fent  to  the  lofl  flieep 
of  the  houfe  of  lirael,  to  feek  aiTd  to  fave  that 
which  was  loft,  is  intended  by  the  foa  of  the 
houfeholder,  v/hom  the  houfeholdcr  fent  to  the  huf- 
^bandmen. 

8th.  Jefus  points  to  the  tragical  fcene  of  his  death, 
which  he  was  foon  to  fuifer  by  the  cruel  hands  of 
the  Jews,  by  the  IiufbandnTen\s  caRing  the  fun 
out  of  the  vineyard  and  flaying  him. 

9th.  CJirift  again  reduces  the  Fharifces  to  the  ne- 
'Cefiity  of  giving  judgment  againil  themfelves,  by 
afldng  them  the  queition,  ''  VVhen  the  Lord  there- 
fore of  the  vineyard  cometh,  what  will  he  do  un- 
to thofe  hufbandmen  ?'*  To  Vv'hich  they  anfwer, 
"  He  will  miterably  deilroy  thofe  wicked  men,  and 
will  let  out  his  vineyard  unto  other  hufbandmen, 
which  fliall  render  him  the  fruits  in  their  ieafons." 
Jefus  then  afked  them  another  qucflion,  which  a- 
gain  referred  to  their  reje6ling  him,  faying,  ''Did 
you  never  read  in  the  fcriptures,  the  ilone  which 
the  builders  rejected,  the  fame  is  become  the 
head  of  the  corner  ?  this  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and 
it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes."  Then  he  applies  the 
foregoing  parable,  according  to  the  pharifees*  an- 
fwer,  and  according  to  his  own  meaning;  "  1  here- 
fore  I  fay  unto  you,  the  kingdom  of  God  fhall 
be  taken  from  you,  and  given  to  a  nation  bring- 
ing forth  the  fruits  thereof:*'  By  which  we  learn 
the  rejeftion  of  Ifrael,  and  the  granting  of  the 
gofpel  to  the  Gentiles. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  apoftacy  of  the  houfe  of  Ifrael,  tlieir  abufe 

of   the    bleflings   with  which   God  dilVinguiflied 

them,  their  fetting  up  their  traditions  by  which 

they   made  void  the  law,  their  teaching  for  doc- 

M 


134  Notes  on  t be  Parables, 

trine  tlie  traditions  and  commandments  of  me», 
and  their  lejedling  the  counfel  of  God  by  the  pro- 
phcts,  and  his  grace  by  Jefus  Chrift,  their  ftum- 
biing  at  the  (tone  laid  in  Zion,  their  rejecting  the 
ftone  \\']nch  was  made  the  head  of  the  corner,  and 
their  being  broken  off  from  their  own  olive  tree 
through  unbelief;  and  the  gentiles  being  grafted 
into  Chrifl:  by  faith  ;  and  the  many  circumilances 
attendant  on  thofe  events, are  represented  by  a  very 
great  variety  of  iimilitudes,  both  in  the  icriptures 
of  the  prophets  and  thofe  of  Chrift*  ^he  pro- 
phet Ifaiah,  in  a  iimilitude  of  a  vineyard,  varied 
but  a  little  from  the  parable  above,  aims  undoubt- 
ediy  at  the  fame  event.  See  chap.  v.  i — 7.  "  Now 
will  I  fing  to  my  well  beloved  a  fong  of  my  be- 
loved touching  his  vineyard.  iVIy  well  beloved 
had  a  vineyard  in  a  very  fruitful  hill  ;  and  he 
fenced  it,  and  gathered  out  the  ftones  thereof, 
and  planted  it  with  the  choiceft  vine,  and  built 
a  tower  in  the  midft  of  it,  and  alfo  made  a  wine 
prefs  therein  :  and  looked  that  it  fhould  bring 
forth  grapes,  and  it  brought  forth  wild  grapes. 
And  now,  O  inhabitants  of  Jerufalem  and  men  of 
Judah,  judge,  I  pray  you,  betwixt  m.e  and  my 
vineyard.  What  could  have  been  done  more  to 
rrjy  vineyard  that  I  have  not  done  in  it  ?  Where- 
fore, when  I  looked  that  it  fliould  bring  forth 
grapes,  brought  it  forth  wild  grapes  ?  And  now, 
go  to  ;  I  will  tell  you  what  1  will  do  to  my  vine- 
yard :  I  will  take  away  the  hedgQ  thereof,  and  it 
iliall  be  eaten  up  ;  and  break  down  the  wall  there- 
of, and  it  fliall  be  trodden  down.  And  I  will  lay 
it  wafte  :  it  fhall  not  be  pruned  nor  digged  ;  but 
there  fhall  come  up  briers  and  thorns  :  I  will  com- 
mand the  clouds  that  they  rain  no  rain  upon  it. 
For  the  vinevard  of  the  Lord  of  hofts  is  the  houfc 


NoIBi  on  the  Parables,  135 

@f  Ifrael,  and  the  men  of  Judah  his  pleafant  plant: 
and  he  looked  for  judgment,  and  behold  oppref- 
fion  ;  for  righteoufnefs,  but  behold  a  cry.*'  Jere- 
iniah  ii.  21.  "  Yet  I  have  planted  thee  a  noble 
vine,  wholly  a  right  feed  r  how  then  art  thou 
turned  into  the  de^jenerate  plant  of  a  fl:rano;e  vine 
unto  me  ?"  The  parable  ot  the  talents  in  the  25tii 
.  of  Matthew,  as  well  as  the  otlier  two  parables  in 
that  chapter,  is  fignificant,  no  doubt,  of  the  fame 
as  the  above  paffages  from  the  prophets.  The  par- 
able of  the  barren  fig-tree  in  St  Luke  13.  has  a 
very  near  relation  to  this  of  the  vineyard.  The 
reader,  by  taking  a  little  pains,  may  eafily  difcover 
the  primary  meaning  and  application  of  all  fuch 
parables. 

In  Ifaiah's  fong  of  the  vineyard,  it  is  noticed, 
that  when  the  planter  of  the  vineyard  looked  that 
it  fhould  bring  forth  grapes,  it  brought  forth  wild 
grapes  ;  which,  in  the  application  made  by  the 
prophet,  refpecls  the  wicked nefs  of  the  houfe  of 
Ifrael.  See  verfe  7.  "  For  the  vineyard  of  the 
Lord  of  liofts  is  the  houfe  of  Ifrael,  and  tlie  men 
of  Judah  his  pleafant  plant  ;  and  he  looked  for 
judgment,  and  behold  oppreffion ;  for  righteouf- 
nefs, but  behold  a  cry.*^ 

Similar  to  this  accufadon  is  that  brought  againfi; 
the  fame  people  by  our  Saviour,  as  recorded  in 
Mat,  xxiii.  23.  **  Woe  unto  you,  fcribes  and 
pharifees,  hypc^crites  \  For  ye  pay  tithe  of  mint, 
and  anifc,  and  cummin,  and  have  omitted  the 
.  weightier  matteni  of  the  law,  judgment,  mercy, 
vand  faith  ;  thefe  ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not 
to  leave  the  others  undone."  Again  in  the  fame 
chapter,  verfe  14  -^'  Woe  unto  you,  fcribes  and 
pharifees,  hypocrites!  for  ye  devour  widows* 
koufesj    and  for  a  pretence  make  long  prayers : 


130  Notes  on  the  Parables^ 

therefore  ye  ftiall  receive  the  greater  damnatron.'*' 
k  was  not  becaufe  the  high  profeflors  of  religion 
among  the  Jews  had  not  been  told  that  God  de- 
lighted more  in  mercy  than  he  did  \n  Jacrijiccsy  that 
they  were  fo  profufe  in  the  latter,  and  lb  utterly- 
negieclful  in  the  former.  The  real  reafon  was^. 
they  could  procure  facrifices  by  devouring  widows" 
lioufes  and  other  acts  of  abominabld  injuilice  ;  but 
lliis  was  no  way  to  come  at  what  their  evil  hearts, 
were  fo  averfe  to  as  mercy.  Of  this  their  wilful 
ignorance  of  v^^hat  their  prophets  had  told  them, 
our  Saviour  did  not  fail  to  put  them  in  mind.. 
See  Mat.  xii.  7.  *'  But  if  ye  had  known  what  this, 
meaneth,  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  facrifice,  ye- 
would  not  have  condemned  the  guiltlefs/'  Again,, 
fee  Mat.  ix.  10,  1 1,  12,  13.  "  And  it  came  to- 
pais,  as  Jefus  fat  at  meat  in  the  houfe,  behold^ 
many  ^publicans  and  fmners  came  and  fat  down 
with  him  and  his  difciples.  And.  v/hea  the  pha.- 
rifees  faw  it  they  faid  unto  his  difciples,  why  eat* 
eth  your  mafter  with  publicans  and  fmners  ?  But 
when  Jefus  heard  that,  he  iiiid  unto  them,  they" 
that  be  whole  need  not  a  phyficlan,  but  they 
that  are  fick.  But  go  ye  and  learn  what  thu  mean- 
eth, I  v/ill  have  mercy,  and  not  facrifice:  for  I 
am  not  come  to  call  the  righteous,  but  iinners,  to 
repentance."  Ihe  occaiion  which  called  for  the 
above  rebuke  was  of  weighty  coniideration,  and 
which  iliew  but  too  plainly  the  pharifees'  want  of 
mercy,  and  their  unj.uftifiabie  ignorance  of  the 
fcriptures  of  the  prophets  on  that  fubjecl. 

*'  Behold,  many  publicans  and  finners  came- 
and  fat  down  with  him  and  his  difciples."  What 
a  fight  muft  this  have  been  to  thofe  felf-righteous 
pharifees  !  A  divine  teacher  {how  a  fpirit  of  con-, 
defcenfion  and  favor  toward  fmners!  how  contrary 


Noies  en  the  Parables.  ^^37 

was  this  to  the  doclrine  and  praclicc  of  the  phar- 
ifees.  No  fuch  fruit  ever  yet  grew  on  the  degen- 
erate plant  of  lb  ilrange  a  vine  as  a  phariice.  Here 
ftands  the  charader  cif  ChriiV  Jcfus  and  the  char- 
acler  of  the  pharifee,  fo  iituared  in  regard  to  each 
other,  that  their  oppofition  is  a  pcrfecl:  difolay  of 
their  two  doctrines  and  their  total  dilrerence.  Tiie 
docfrine  of  Chrift,  on  the  one  hand,  (hews  mercy 
to  finnei's,  that  of  the  pharifees  on  the  other  hand^ 
Ihows  no  mercy  to  frnners.  The  intent  and  mean- 
ing  of  the  miflron  of  Chrid  was  to  call  Tinners 
to  repentance.  The  intent  and  defign  of  tlie  doc- 
trine of  the  pharifees  was  to  fentence  {inners  to 
hopelefs  mifery.  The  work  of  Chrift,  like  that 
of  a  Ikilful  phyficianr,  was  to  heal  the  fick.  '1  he 
work  of  the  pharifees  was  to  thank  God  that  they 
w^erc  not  like  other  men. 

'  Wliat  were  the  weightier  mittcrs  of  tlie  law 
which  the  Pharifees  omitted?  Av\{\vqv^  jiiugmeut, 
mercy ^  and  faith.  If  they  had  not  been  wanting 
rn  thofe  requirements  of  the  law,  they  would  not 
have  been  accufed  of  bearinir,,  in  the  room  of  the 
expected  grapes,  ^ujlld  grapes.  They  would  not 
have  been  reprefcriLcd  by  huibandmen  v/ho  refufcd 
to  render  to  their  houfeholder  the  fruit  of  liis 
vineyard.  Nor  would  they  have  been  fubjecl  to 
be  reprimanded  as  wicked  and  floihfui  fcrvants, 
Thefe  religious  people  farely  did  not  ncglecl  to 
have  and  maintain  fomething  that  they  called  juf- 
tice  or  judgment  ;  no,  fee  the  paflage  quoted  from 
ifaiah.  "  And  he  l(H)ked  ^ov  judgment,  but  behold 
opprcjjton.^'  This  opprejfion  they  called  jujiice^  or 
judgment.  Why  was  it  not  acceptable  r  Aidwer, 
becaufe  it  was  that  kind  of  judgment  or  jufticc, 
if  if  be  right  to  call  it  fo,  in  which  there  was  p.o 
mercy,  of  courfe  no  righteoufnefs,  The  doctrine 
M  % 


Tl 


138  Notes  on  the  Parabfei. 

of  the  pharifees  never  could  bring  juftice  and  mer- 
cy  to  agree  ;  perhaps  the  reafon  was,  they  enter- 
tained   the   fame    opinion    that  is  taught   in    our 
fchoolsjand  by  our  chriftian  dcelors,  that  the  U*iu^ 
knows  710  mercy  !  Here  we  come,  as  it  were  by  mere 
accident,  where   the   parable   applies   with   all  its- 
force  to  the  chriftian  church,  as  it  did  to  that  of 
the  Jews.     We  have  already,  feen  the  oppofition 
A^'hich  appeared   between   the  doclrlne  and  tradi- 
tions  of  the  pharifees,  and  the  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice of  Chriil ;  and  furely  no- argument  is  neceifary 
to  (how  the  exacl  agreement  between  the  doctrine 
•and   traditions  of    the  pharifees  and  the  doclrine 
and  traditions  of  our  doctors  of  divinity.     There 
certainly  never  could  be  more  oppreffion  in  what 
palled  for  juftice   among  the  pharifees,  than  therc- 
is  in  the  doctrine  of  endiefs  punifhment  contended 
for   by  our  divines  ;  nor  was  it  poflible  for  them, 
to  adminifler  what  they  called  juftice,  in  a  more* 
tin  merciful   manner   than   our  divines  do  in  con- 
tending for  the  juilice  of  never  ending,  unmerci- 
ful puniihment.     Thofe  pharifees    adopted  tradi- 
tions as  confiftent  with  their  views  of  the  require- 
ments of  the  law  as  pofUble,  and  our  divines  have 
done  the  fame.     Thofe  denied  the  profeifor  in  Je- 
fus   the  rites  of  the  fynagogue,  and   thefe   deny^ 
the  rites  of  the  chriftian  church  and  communion. 
Thofe  devoured  widowb'houfes  and  opprelfed  the 
poor,  and  thefe  have  done  much  more  ;  not  bein^ | 
content  with  taking  the  property, of  thofe  whom 
they   pleafe  to  denounce  as  erroneous,  they  have- 
whipped,  confined,  banifhed  and  nmrdered  them  t 
i  his  they   have  called  juftice  in  this  world,  and 
never  ending  punifhment  they  call  juftice  in  the 
licxt.    The  cries  of  the  poor  and  needy,  oppreffcd 


Notes  on  the  Parabfes.  159 

with  ecdeiiaftical  exactions,  have  afcended  to  hea- 
ven from  this  land  of  boailed  religious  tolerance. 

Looking  at  the  chriflian  church  in  the  fimiii- 
tude  of  a  vineyard,  it  may  be  faid,  when  ji^dg- 
merit  was  looked  for,  behold,  opprejjlon.  Or  if  we 
vievv  it  in  the  characler  of  huftxmdtnen  to  whom 
a  vineyard  v/as  let  out,  it  appears  that  in  room  of 
rendering  the  fruit  in  the  feaibn,  the  hufbandmen 
have  killed  the  fervants  of  their  houfeholder,  with 
a  view  to  retain  the  fruits  to  themfeives.  Nor  do 
they  attack,  winh  lefs  fury,  the  fon,  who  is  the 
heir,  than  did  thofe  who  hung  him  on  a  tree. 

The  doclrine  of  an  unmerciful  law  feems  to  be 
the  chief  corner  ftone  on  which  our  chriCtian 
builders  have  erecled  their  temple,  for  it  is  in  ftrict 
conformity  to  a  iufticc  in  which  there  is  no  mercy, 
that  they  endeavor  to  build,  and  although  in  the 
building  of  thi^  Babel  their  language  is  complete- 
ly confounded,  they  uniformly  retain  the  fame 
words  to  exprefs  the  form  and  hgu-re  of  their  chief 
cornor  ftone. 

The  mind  can  hardly  conceive  of  the  greatnefs 
of  the  change  which  would  be  effected  in  our  or- 
thodox creed,  fliould  it  be  fo  modified  as  to  admit 
of  the  full,  free  and  perfecl:  action  of  the  three 
weightier  matters  of  the  law  named  by  Chriit^ 
judgment^  mercy  and  faith  !  three  divine  jewels  of 
the  law  !  In  their  harm^)ny,  in  the  point  where 
they  meet,  there  fhines  the  brightnefs  of  the  fa- 
ther's glory,  and  the  exprefs  image  of  his  perfon. 
This  divine  law,  which  requires  judgment,  mercy 
and  faith,  as  its  weightier  matters,  is  reprefented 
as  entirely  deftitute  of  mercy,  or  of  any  power  to 
^pport  the  chriftian  faith.  And  indeed  this  re- 
prelentation  muit  be  maintained,  or  the  belief  of 
endlefs,  unmerciful  puniihment  muft  be  given  up  ^ 


i40  Notes  on  the  Parnbtes, 

for  it  is  as  evident  as  demonflration,  that  a  la'vr 
which  requires  mercy  as  one  of  its  cardinal  ob- 
jects, can  never  puniih  in  an  uninerclful  manner. 
If  the  chief  prierts,  the  elders  of  the  people  and' 
the  pharifees  had  entertained  no  ideas  of  juiHce, 
but  iuch  as  were  in  perfecl  unifon  with  mercy,  and 
had  profcifed  no  faich  but  Iuch  as  mercy  fupport- 
ed,  it  is  very  evident  that  they  would  never  have 
entertained  that  implacable  hatred  towards  thofer 
whom  they  viewed  finners,  that  they  did,  nor 
would  they  have  defpifed  and  rejected  Chrift  for 
being  a  friend  to  publicans  and  fmners.  Equally 
applicable  are  thefe  remarks  to  the  d'od'ors  and 
leaders  in  the  chriftran  church.  If  they  entertain- 
ed no  ideas  of  juftice,  but  fuch  as  are  in  perfeclf 
unifon  with  mercy,  and  prcfefled  no  faith  but 
fuch  as  mercy  fupports,  it  is  evident  beyond  an/ 
doubt,  that  they  would  not  teach  the  juftice  of 
unmerciful,  endlefs  punifnmient,  nor  faith  in  fuclr 
a  difpenfation  of  juftice.  Of  courfe,  they  never 
would  have  been  the  wicked  inftigators  of  the* 
abominable,  unmerciful  perfecutions  which  have 
been  practifed  in  tl>e  chrifti^n  church.  [It  is  un- 
derftood  that  the  reader  is  at  liberty  to  place  cmtt 
to  the  w^ord  chrijVian^  wherever  the  fenfe  requires 
it.]  Nor  would  they  at  this  moment,  when  the 
civil  authority  is  not  only  out  of  their  hands,  in 
this  country,  but  abfolutely  forbids  their  oppref- 
fing  or  perfecuting,  (how  fuch  a  veneration  for 
and  pay  almoft  divine  honor  to  thofe  who,  when 
they  had  the  power  in  their  hands,  banifiied  and 
put  to  death  thofe  who  could  not  believe  in  their 
antiehriftian  creeds.  As  the  highly  efteemed  hier- 
archy of  the  Jewifli  church  finally  loft  its  power 
and  refpeclability,  fo  muft  it  be  with  that  of  the 
antiehriftian.     Nut  a  veftige  of  it  will  be  left  tO' 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  14% 

diffionor  the  Saviour,  or   to  feduce  and  deceive 
mankind. 

As  the  foregoing  illuftration  fets  the  character 
of  the  divine  hiw  in  fo  different  a  light  from  what 
is  generally  believed,  it  may  be  well  to  Ihow  in 
what  fenie  the  law  is  reprefented  to  be  a  miniftra- 
tion  of  death,  and  in  what  fenfe  it  is  a  miniftra- 
tion  of  mercy  and  life.  This  may  be  feen  very 
plainly  fct  forth  in  much  of  the  writings  of  St. 
Paul,  one  palfage  of  which  may  here  be  noticed. 
See  Roni.  viii.  3,  4,  "  I*'or  what  the  law  could  not 
do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the  llefli,  God 
fending  his  own  fon  in  the  likenefs  of  fmful  flefh, 
and  for  fin  condemned  fm  in  the  flefh  ;  that  the 
right eoiifnefs  of  the  Unu  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  who 
walk  not  after  ihcjlc/h,  but  after  the/pirit.''  This 
pafl'age,  as  connected  with  the  thread  of  the  apof- 
tle's  argument  on  tliis  fubject,  fhows  the  Luv  to  be 
a  minijlratioji  of  death  iti  the  letter^  but  a  minijiratwn  of 
righteoufnefs  and  life  in  the  fpirit.  This  idea  is  cor- 
roborated  by  the  following  paiTages  :  See  Rom.  ii. 
27,  28,  29.  ''  And  fhali  not  circumciQon  which 
is  by  nature,  if  it  fulfil  the  lav/,  judge  thee,  who 
by  the  letter  and  circumciiion  doll  tranfgrefs 
the  law  ?  For  he  is  not  a  Jew  which  is  one  out- 
wardly :  neither  is  that  circumcif].on  which  is  out- 
ward in  the  flefli :  but  he  is  a  Jew  which  is  one 
inwardly  :  and  circumcifion  is  that  of  the  hearty 
in  the  fpirit^  and  not  in  the  letter  ;  whofe  praife  is 
not  of  men  but  of  God.*^*  Chap.  vii.  6.  "  But 
now  we  are  delivered  from  the  law,  that  being^ 
dead  wherein  we  were  held  ;  that  we  fliould  ferve 
in  newncf  of  fpirit^  and  not  in  the  ckhitfs  of  the  let^ 
Ur.**  2.  Cor.  iii.  6,  "  Who  alio  hath  made  us 
able  miniflers  of  the  new  tetlament,  not  of  the 
letter  ,  but  of  the  fpirit ;  tor  the  later  killethy  but 
the  fpint  liveth  life," 


14a  'Notes  on  the  Parables^ 

Parable  xxiil 

•'   And  vrhofoever  fhail  fall  on  this  ftone  (kail  bs  broken  :  tut 
on  whomfoever  it  ftiall  fall,  it  will  grind  hinrj  to  powder.** 

Mat.  xxi    44. 

ift.  THE  flone,  of  wTiich  CTirifl:  fpake  in  the  a- 
bove  verfe,  is  that  which  the  builders  reje^iedy 
which  became  the  head  of  the  corner,  by  which 
}  underftand  Chrift  himfelf,  as  I  have  obferved  be- 
fore on  the  words  rock  and  ilone,  in  notes  on  a 
former  parable. 

2d.  Thofe  who  fell  upon  this  ftone,  and  were 
broken,were  the  ]tvjs^\\hoJlumbledzt  xhtjione  laid 
in  Zion,  and  were  broken  off  through  unbelief.  See 
Rom,  ix.  32.  ''  Wherefore  ?  becaufe  they  fought 
it  not  by  taith,  but  as  it  were  by  the  works  of  the 
law:  iov  X.\\Qy Jiu7nbied2iX.thztJiu7Jibling-JioneJ^  And 
xi.  20.  "  Well  5  becaufe  of  unbelief  they  were 
broken  off/'  &c. 

3.  Thofe  on'  whom  this  /lone  fell,  were  thofe 
kings,  and  their  monarchical  powers,  reprefented' 
in  Nebuchadiiezzar's  dream.  See  Daniel  ii.  31, 
"  Thou,  O  king,  f^jweft,  and  behold,  a  great  im- 
age :  this  great  image,  whofe  brightnefs  was  ex- 
cellent. Hood  before  thee,  and  the  form  thereof 
was  terrible."  And  verfe  34,  2)5-  '^  fhou  faweft 
till  that  2,  ftone  was  cut  out  without  hands,  which 
finote  the  image  upon  his  feet  that  were  of  iroa 
and  clay,  and  brake  them  to  pieces.  Then  was 
the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brafs,  thae  Hlver,  and  the 
gold,  broken  to  pieces^  together,  and  became  like 
the  chaff  of  the  fummer  threihing  lioors,  and 
the  wind  carried  them  away,  that  no  place  was- 
found  for  them  ;  and  the  ftone  that  fmote  the 
image  became  a  great  mountain,  and  hiled  th& 
whole  ear  ill.'* 


l>Iotes  on  the  Parables*  143 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  way  in  which  tradition  applies  the  forego- 
ing  parable  to  prove  the  doclrine  of  endlefs  pun- 
ifliment,  is  by  fuppofing,  that  by  thofe  who  fall 
on  this  ftone  and  are  broken,  is  meant  thofe  who 
give  up  all  dependance  for  falvation,  in  works  of 
their  own,  and  depend  wholly  on  Llirift  ;  and 
that,  by  thofe  on  whom  this  ftone  fhail  fall 
and  grind  them  to  powder,  is  meaot,  tho^e  on 
whom  the  vindiclive  wrath  of  Chrift  wiil  finally 
fall  and  endlefsly  remain. 

This  ufe  and  application  of  the  parable  is  fub- 
jeff,  among  many  others,  to  the  follov/ing  objec- 
tions, ift  If  it  had  been  the  intention  of  the 
divine  teacher  to  have  given  forth  an  evidence  of 
fo  momentous  a  doctrine  as  that  of  endlefs  pun- 
ifliment,  it  is  reafonable  to  fuppofe  that  lie  would 
have  been  more  explicit,  and  that  for  the  follow- 
ing reaions  ; 

I  ft.  It  is  not  reafonable  to  fuppofe  that  he  would 
vifh  to  eftabliih  a  belief  in  any  thing,  which 
would  not  work  fome  benefit  to  the  believer. 

2d.  If  he  faw  that  a  benefit  would  arlfe  to  the 
believer  of  that  fentiment,  from  a  belief  in  it,  it 
is  reafonable  to  fuppofe  that  he  would  have  ex- 
prefi'ed  the  fentiment  in  plain,  unequivocal  terms, 
as  our  preachers  now  do,  without  Chrift's  ex- 
ample. 

The  fecond  general  objeclion  againft  the  tradi- 
tional ufe  of  the  parable  may  be  ftated  thus :  If 
Chrift  had  been  in  poifeflion  of  a  pofitive  know- 
ledge that  he  fhould  finally  a<5t  in  an  ofiScial  capa- 
city in  making  any  portion  of  the  liuman  race 
endlcisly  miferable,  it  is  moft  reafonable  to  fuppofe 
that  he  would  have  kept  that  to  himfelf,  for  the 
following  reafons : 


t44  ^01  es  on  the  Parables. 

id.  Becaufe  he  profeilcd  himielf  to  be  entirely 
differently  diipoled  from  any  fucli  will  or  dilpoli- 
tion.  He  declared  that  the  father  did  not  fend*^ 
him  into  th-e  world  to  condemn  the  world,  but^ 
that  the  world  through  him  n)ight  be  favcd.  He'"' 
likewife  urged  the  ncceffity  and  propriety  of  lov-J: 
ing  our  enemies,  and  praying  for  them  ;  and  he''' 
manifelted  this  fpirit  even  until  the  laft,  when  he  ' 
prayed  his  father  to  forgive  his  perfecutors  and 
murderers. 

2d.  It  iri  not  reafonable  that  the  manifeftation 
of  luch  a  fact  could  be  of  any  fervice  to  any  per-. 
fon  living  on  the  earth.  For  if  this  divine  teacher  ; 
knew  that  he  fliould  adminifter  never-ending:  ^ 
puniflimcnt  to  any  of  the  human  family,  for  them 
to  know  it,  in  this  world,  could  furely  be  no  ad- 
vantage to  them.  If  it  be  urged  in  reply,  that  it 
was  neceflary  to  have  this  facl  known,  fo  that 
men  might  ufe  means  to  avoid  it,  let  it  be  noticed, 
that  if  it  can  be  avoided,  it  is  by  no  means  a  facl. 

'J  he  third  objedlion  to  the  conuiionly  received 
opinion,  ufe  and  application  of  this  parable,  is,  in 
fuch  a  ufe  of  the  pallage,  the  language  of  the  text 
is  not  analogous  udth  other  fcriptures  where  fimi- 
lar  language  is  ufcd,  1  his  flone  is  fpoken  of  in 
Pfalm  cxviii.  22,  23.  "  The  ffone  which  the  build- 
ers refufed  is  become  the  head-ftone  of  the  corner. 
Ihis  is  the  Lord's  doing;  it  is  marvellous  in  our 
eyes,"  i^garn  in  Ifaiah  viii.  14,  15  "  And  he 
fhall  be  for  a  iancluary  ;  but  for  a  ftone  of  flum- 
bling,  and  for  a  rock  of  offence,  to  both  the  houfes 
of  Ifrael ;  for  a  gin  and  for  a  fnare  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Jerufalcm,  And  many  among  them  (hall 
flumble,  and  fall,  and  be  broken,  and  be  fnared, 
and  be  taken."  Chrift  fays  in  the  parable,  *'  who- 
loever  (hail//^//  on  this  ftone  fliall  be  broken,'*  Ifaiah 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  145 

fays  in  the  quotation  above,  "  many  of  them  fiiall 
{lumble,  Tindfall^  and  be  broke?!,'*  No  reafonable 
doubt  can  be  entertained  that  Chrift  had  his  eye 
to  this  fcripture  in  Ifaiah  when  he  fpoke  our  para- 
ble. Nor  will  it  be  contended  that  the  meaning 
of  the  paffage  in  Ifaiah  is,  that  thofe  who  ftumble 
and  fall,  who  are  fnarcd  and  taken,  are,  in  that 
iituation,  true  converts  to  Chrift.  St.  Paul's  ap- 
plication of  this  fcripture  of  the  prophet,  in  Rom. 
ix.  31,  32,  T^-T^j  makes  our  fubjecl  plain  to  the  un- 
derftanding.  "  But  Ifrael,  which  followed  after 
the  law  of  righteoufnefs,  hath  not  attained  to  the 
law  of  righteoufnefs.  Wherefore  ?  I5ecaufe  they 
fought  it  not  by  faith,  but  as  it  were  by  the  works 
of  the  law  ;  for  they  ftumbled  at  that  ftumbling- 
ftone ;  as  it  is  written.  Behold  I  lay  in  Sion  a 
ftumbling-ftone  and  rock  of  oiTence  :  and  whofo- 
ever  believeth  on  him  ftiall  not  be  afhamed."  In 
Rom.  xi.  19,  20,  the  apoftle  defignates  his  mean- 
ing more  particularly.  ''Ihouwilt  fay  then,  the 
branches  were  broken  0^,  that  I  might  be  grafted 
in.  Well;  becaufe  of  unbelief  they  were  broken 
cff^  and  thou  ftandeft  by  faith."  Correfponding 
"v^'ith  the  quotation  from  Daniel,  ufed  in  the  above 
notes,  to  apply  the  words  of  the  parable  Vv'hich  fay, 
•*'  But  on  whomfoever  it  fhall  fall,  it  will  grind 
"him  to  powder,"  are  the  following  paflages  :  Fialm 
ii.  8 — 12.  "  Afk  of  me,  and  I  fliail  give  thee  the 
Jieathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermoft 
parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  poiTciTion.  Thou  fhalt 
ireak  them  with  a  rod  of  iron;  thou  ih.dt  dafh 
them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vefl'el.  Be  wife  now, 
therefore,  t)  ye  kings  ;  be  inftrucled,  ye  judges  of 
'the  earth.  Serve  the  Lord  with  fear,  and  rejoice 
<with  trembling.  Kifs  the  Son,  left  he  be  angry, 
and  ye  perifli  from  the  way,  when  his  wratli  i« 
N 


14^  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

kin'dled  but  a  little.  BleiTcd  are  all  they  that  put 
their  trull  in  him."  Pfalm  cxlix.  5 — 9  ''  Let  the 
faints  be  joyful  in  glory  :  let  them  ling  aloud  upon 
their  beds.  Let  the  high  praifes  of  God  be  in 
their  mouth,  and  a  two-edged  fword  in  their 
hand  :  to  execute  vengeance  upon  the  heathen, 
and  punifhment  upon  the  pt^ople ;  to  bind  their 
kings  with  chains,  and  their  nobles  with  fetters  of 
iron  J  to -execute  upon  them  the  judgment  writ- 
ten :  this  honor  have  all  his  faints.  Praiie  ye  the 
Lord."  Rev.  ii.  26,  27.  ''  And  he  that  overcom- 
eth,  and  keepeth  my  v/orks  unto  the  end,  to  hira 
will  I  give  power  over  the  nations  ;  and  he  fliall 
rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  as  the  veflels  of  a 
potter  fhall  they  be  broken  to  fliivers ;  even  as  I 
received  of  my  father."  It  feems  hardly  necefiary 
now  to  proceed  to  prove  that  Chrift  will  not  dit- 
poilefs  himlelf  of  his  poileflion,  and  that  he  will 
not  make  his  own  inheritance,  which  his  father 
gave  him,  eternally  miferable.  The  words  of  the 
blelTed  Saviour  on  this  fubjeci:  will,  however,  he 
confidered  as  not  only  important,  but  acceptable ' 
and  edifying.  See  St.  John  vi.  37,  38,  39.  "  All^ 
that  the  father  giveth  me  fhall  com.e  to  mc  :  andj 
him  that  comcth  to  me  1  will  in  no  wife  cad  out, : 
For  I  came  down  irom  heaven,  not  to  do  minei 
own  w^ill,  but  the  will  of  him  that  lent  me.  And 
this  is  the  father's  will  which  hath  fent  me,  that 
of  all  which  he  hath  given  me  1  fhould  lofe  noth- 
ing, but  fhould  raife  it  up  again  at  the  laft  day. 

Ihe  faints  noticed  in  the  149th  Pfalm  verc 
armed  with  a  two-edged  fword,  and  had  the  horor 
of  executing  on  the  heathen  the  judgments  writ^ 
ten,  of  binding  their  kings  with  chains,  and  their 
nobles  wdth  feVters  of  iron.  St.  Paul  in  Fph.  vi, 
17,  fpeaks  of  this  fword  as  being  the  fword  of  the 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  147 

fpirit,  which  Is  the  word  of  God.  The  conqueil 
obtained  by  the  faints  over  the  nations  and  kings 
of  the  earth,  is  noticed  in  Pfalm  Ixxii.  11."  All 
kings  fliail  fall  down  before  him  ;  all  nations  iliall 
ferve  him."  And  this  correfponds  with  a  vail 
multitude  oFpaiTages  of  fcripture,  particularly  with 
Pfalm  Ixxxvi.  9,  10.  "  All  nations  whom  thou  haft 
made  (hall  come  and  worihip  before  thee,  O  Lord  ; 
and  ("hall  glorify  thy  name.  For  thou  art  great, 
and  doeftv/ondrous  things  :  thou  art  God  alone." 


PARABLE  XXIV,  XXV  and  XXVL 

»♦  Then  (hall  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be  ilkenei  unto  ten  vir- 
gins,  which  took  tlieir  lamps,  and  went  forth  10  naeet.lhe 
bridegroom.  And  five  of  them  were  s^ife,  and  five  were 
foolifh.  They  ih.n  were  fooiifh  took  their  latrjps,  and  look 
no  oil  with  them  :  but  the  wife  took  oil  in  their  vc/Ttls  with 
their  lan:)ps.  While  the  bridegroom  tarried,  they  all  num- 
bered and  fl-^pt.  And  at  rrJdnight  there  was  a  cry  made, 
Behold,  the  bridegroom  correih,  go  ye  cut  to  tuu-x  hija. 
Then  all  ihofe  virgins  arofe,  and  triaimed  their  lamps. 
And  the  fooliih  f.-»id  unto  the  wife,  Give  us  of  your  oil,  for 
our  lamps  are  gone  cut.  Bat  the  wife  anfwered,  faying, 
N"*!  fo  ;  left  there  be  not  enough  for  us  and  you  :  but  go 
ye  rather  to  them  that  fell,  and  buy  for  yourfelves.  And 
while  they  went  to  buy,  the  bridcgrooii  came  :  and  they 
that  were  ready  went  in  with  him  to  the  marriage  ;  and  th^ 
door  was  (hat.  After^vard  came  alfo  the  other  virgins,  fay- 
ing, Lor^,  Lord,  open  to  us.  But  he  anfwered  and  faiJ, 
Veriiy,  I  fay  unto  you,  I  know  you  not.  Watch  therefore, 
for  ye  know  neither  the  day  nor  the  hour  wherein  the  Son 
of  m:in  comeih.'*  Mat.  xxv.  i — 13. 


14^  J^^otcs  on  the  Parables. 

THIS  chapter  contains  three  parables,  by  which 
are  communicated  diiTerent  circumftances  of  the 
fame  event,  viz.  tJie  change  of  the  difpenfation. 
On  the  paragraph  above  written,  I  obfcrve, 

ift.  The  time  when  the  kingdom  of  heaven  vi^as 
likened  unto  ivi/e  :indfoo!i/h  virgin?,  I  learn  from 
the  word  i/:cn,  which,  being  an  adverb  of  time,  has 
reference  to  a  time  before  defignated,  which  I  find 
in  the  chapter  preceding,  verfe  34.  "  Verily,  I  fay. 
unto  you,  This  ger.eration  fhail  not  pafs^  till  all  thefe 
things  be  fulfilled." 

2d.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  here  meant,  I  un-^ 
derftarid  to  be  the  houfe  of  Ifrael  under  the  law  ;. 
rind  the  Jew\s,  under  that  difpenfation,  are  repre- 
fented  by  virgins,  on  account  of  their  profeffing 
to  v/01  {hip  one  God. 

3d.  By  lamps,  I  underftand  thofe  figurative  rites 
obierved  in  the  law  and  its  priefthood,  which  con- 
tained or  gave  all  the  light  which  the  people  re- 
ceived under  the  law. 

4th.  The  oil,  which  the  wife  took  in  their  vef- 
fels  with  their  lamps,  and  which  was  neceffary 
therewith,  was  the  knozvledge  of  what  thofe  types 
in  the  priefthood  fignified ;  which  enabled  thofe. 
who  v/ere  wife  to  look  forward  to  the  great  anti- 
type, who  was  Chrift. 

5th.  The  folly  of  the  fo6lifh,  who  were  deftitute 
of  the  oil^  or  knowledge^  of  which  I  have  fpoken, 
confided  in  depending  on  the  righteoufnefs  of  the 
law,  which  confifi:ed  in  the  obfervance  of  thofe 
fhadows  of  which  mention  has  juft  been  made ; 
not  being  acquainted  with  the  jighteoufnejs  of 
Chrift,  which  alone  is  acceptable  with  God:  And 
fuch  were  juftly  called  foolifli. 

6th.  The  circumftance  in  which  the  Jews  w^ere 
before  the  coming  of  Chrifi:,  is  reprefented  by  vir- 
gins llecping. 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  149 

7th.  The  million  of  John  the  baptlft,  as  the 
voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wildernels  in  fo  dark 
a  time  with  the  people  of  Ifrael  as  lie  came  in,  is 
meant  by  a  cry  at  midnight,  "  Behold,  ihe  bride- 
groom comech,  go  ye  out  to  meet  him." 

Sih.  By  bridegroom,  is  intended  Chriil  himfelf, 
whom  I  have  betore  reprefented  in  this  character, 
in  notes  on  the  parable  of  a  marriage  which  a  king 
made  for  his  fbn. 

9th.  ihe  need  in  which  thofe  fclf-righteous 
pliarifees  flood  of  that  wifdom  which  the  wife  pof- 
feffed,  is  meant  by  the  foolifh  alking  the  wife  for 
their  oil  ;  and  the  impoflibility  or  impropriety  of 
the  wifdom  of  one  anfwering  for  another,  is  (hown 
in  the  anlwer  of  the  wife  to  the  foolifh  virgins. 

10th.  Ihat  part  of  ifracl  who  received  the  Sa- 
viour, and  entered  into  the  bride-chamber  with 
tlie  bridegroom,  I  underftand  by  tliofc  who  were 
ready,  who  went  in  to  the  marriage. 

I  ith.  The  door  that  was  fhut,  was  the  door  of 
the  law,  and  was  fliut  by  him  who  hath  the  keys 
of  David,  who  openeth  and  no  man  fhulteiii  ; 
and  fliutteth,  and  no  man  openeth.  lie  doled 
the  difj)enfation  of  law,  and  no  man  can  open  it  ; 
"he  opened  the  door  of  gofpel  hope  and  faivation, 
■and  no  man  can  (liut  it. .  Ihofe  Jews  who  are  fig- 
nified  by  foolifh  virgins  in  our  text,  are  alfo  fpok- 
en  of  in  St.  John's  gofpel  i.  11.  "He  came  unto 
Lis  own,  and  his  own  received  him  not.'^  /Uid 
thofe  who  are  reprefented  by  Vv'ife  virgins,  are 
fpoken  of  in  the  verfe  following,  "  But  as  many 
as  received  him,  to  rhem  gave  lie  power  to  becon.e 
the  fons  of  God,  eVen  to  them  who  believe  on  his 
name."  Again,  they  are  oblervcd  by  St.  Paul  to 
the  Romans  xi  7.  "  Wliat  then  ?  Ifrael  hath  not 
obtained  that  v»hich  he  fcckcth  for,  but  the  cWc- 
1>J  2 


15^  ^oies  on  the  Parable^, 

tion  hath  obtained  it,  and  the  reft  were  biinded/^" 
Again,  verfe  25.  "  For  I  would  not,  brethren,  that 
ye  fliould  be  ignorant  of  this  myftery,  (left  ye 
ihould  be  wife  in  your  own  conceits)  that  blindnefs 
in  -part  is  happened  to  Ifracl  until  \.)\t  fulnefs  of  the 
Gentiles  be  come  in,'* 

The  endeavors  of  that  part  of  Ifrael  which  was 
broken  off  through  unbelief,  to  obtain  acceptance 
with  the  Meffiah  in  whom  they  believed,  is  meant 
by  the  foolifli  virgins'  coming  to  the  door  and 
afliing  for  admiflion.  But  they  endeavoring  ftill 
to  enter  by  their  own  works,  or  oil  which  they 
had  purchafed ;  and  alfo  expecting  to  enter  by 
that  door  which  was  already  fiiut,  were  anfwered 
by  the  bridegroom,  "  1  know  you  not :"  By  which 
I  underftand,  that  after  the  law  difpenfation  was 
clofed,  and  the  gofpel,  as  a  difpenfation,  introducr 
ed,  Chrift  would  know  no  man  after  the  law ;  or, 
as  St.  Paul  fays,  "  We  know  no  man  after  the 
Jlejh  ;  though  we  have  known  Chri/i  after  xhtjlejlj, 
yet,  henceforth  know  we  him  no  more." 

Chrift  then  clofes  this  parable,  by  fliowing  the 
neceffity  of  watching,  as  they  know  neither  the 
day  nor  the  hour  wherein  the  Son  of  man  ihould 
come.  I  take  no  notice  of  the  cuftom  of  mar- 
riages among  the  Jews,  as  1  conceive  it  to  be  of  no 
particular  importance  to  the  reader. 

"  For  tlic  kingdom  of  heaven  is  as  a  man  travelling  into  a  far 
country,  who  cilied  his  own  fervants,  and  delivered  unto 
them  his  goods.  And  unto  one  he  gave  five  lalenls,  to  an* 
ether  two,  and  to  another  one  :  to  every  man  according  to 
his  ftrveral  ability,  and  (lr;<ightway  took  his  journey.  Then 
he  that  had  received  tlie  five  talents  went,  and  traded  with 
thefdme,  and  made  ihsm  other  five  talents.  And  like  wife 
lie  that  had  received  two,  he  alfo  gained  other  two.     But  h& 


J^oUs  on  the  Parables.  i-fi 

that  had  received  one  went  and  dijjged  in  the  carih.anti  hid 
his  lord's  money.  After  a  long  lime,  the  lord  of  ibole  fe?- 
vants  coraeih,  and  reck  •ncih  with  them.  And  fo  he  thai  had 
received  five  talents  came,  and  brought  other  live  talents, 
faying,  Lord,  thoa  deliveredft  unto  me  five  talents  :  btholcS 
I  have  gained  befides  ihcm  five  talents  more  His  lord  faid 
unto  him,  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faiihful  fervent ;  ihca 
haft  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  vill  make  the  ruler 
ovet  raaoy  things  :  enter  rfiou  into  the  joy  of  thy  lord. 
He  alfo  that  had  received  two  talenrs  came,  and  faid.  Lord, 
thou  deliveredft  unto  me  two  talents  :  behold,  I  have  gain- 
ed two  other  talents  befices  thctn.  His  lord  faid  unto  him, 
Well  done,  good  and  faithful  fcrvanl  ;  thou  haft  teen  faith- 
ful  over  a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  mauy 
things  :  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  ihy  lord.  Then  he  which 
had  received  the  one  talent  came  and  (aid,  Lord,  I  knew 
thee  that  thou  art  an  hard  man,  reaping  v.'here  ihou  haft 
not  fown,  and  gathering  where  thou  haft  not  ftrawed  :  And 
I  was  afraid,  and  went  and  hid  thy  taicat  in  the  ep.rth  ;  lo, 
there  thou  haft  that  is  thine.  His  lord  anfwered  and  faid 
unco  him,  Thou  wicked  and  flotJiful  fervant,  thou  kneweft 
that  I  reap  where  I  fowed  not,  and  gather  where  I  have  not 
ftrawed  ;  thou  ODghteft  therefore  to  have  put  my  money  to 
the  exchangers,  and  then  at  ncy  comiDpi  I  Ihould  have  re- 
ceived my  own  with  ufary.  Take  therefore  the  Jalent  from 
him,  and  give  it  unto  him  which  hath  ten  laUntSr  For  un- 
to every  one  that  hath  (hall  be  given,  and  he  fliali  have  abun- 
dance :  but  from  him  that  hath  not,  fnali  be  taken  av^ay 
even  that  which  he  bath.  And  c^ft  ye  the  unprofitable  (tt- 
vant  into  utter  darknefs  j  there  ftiall  be  vreeping  and  gnafii- 
ing  of  teeth.*'  Mat   xxv.  24—30- 

ON  this  parable  of  the  talents,  I  obferve  as 
follows  : 

ift   Chrift  hinifelf  is  meant,  by  the  fervant  who 
received  five  taleuta* 


152  Noks  on  the  Parabks, 

2d.  John  the  Bapiiil  is  reprefented,  by  him  who 
had  two. 

3d.  The  houfe  of  Ifrael  is  intended,  by  him  who 
received  one. 

The  mijf^on  of  the  Saviour,  is  meant  by  the  five 
talents  :  1  he  niillion  of  John,  by  two  talents  ;  and 
the  difpeniation  of  law,  is  meant  by  the  one  tafent. 

4th.  The  law  given  to  the  Jews  in  the  earthly 
charader,  is  meant  by  the  one  talent's  being  hid  in 
the  earth.  And  as  the  houfe  of  Ifrael  did  not  im- 
prove by  that  difpenfation  fo  as  to  find  acceptance 
with  God,  it  is  fignified  in  the  parable  in  that  the 
one  talent  was  not  put  to  the  exchangers  for  ufury. 

5th.  By  the  fervant  who  received  the  one  taN 
ent's  complaining  of  his  I  ord*s  being  an  hardWiZn^ 
and  the  fear  which  he  fe!t  on  that  account,  I  un- 
derftand  the  peculiar  and  difagreeable  circum Ranee 
of  thofe  who  feel  the  obligations  of  the  law,  with- 
out hrving  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel  ^  whereby  the 
law  is  fuifiiled  ;  in  which  circumllance,  men  often 
grumble  at  the  dealings  of  the  Lord,  and  call  him 
an  hard  mafler,  kc, 

6th.  The  approbation  which  John,  the  forerun- 
ner of  Chriil  and  friend  of  the  bridegroom  ob- 
tained,  is  fignified  by  the  favors  fnown  to  the  fer- 
vant who  received  the  two  talents. 

7th.  The  reafoTi  why  the  one  talent  was  taken 
fr(nn  him  who  firft  received  it,  and  given  to  him 
who  had  ten  talents  by  occupying  the  five  ;  and 
not  to  him  who  had  four,  by  occupying  two,  is  ift. 
Becaufe  the  jews  would  never  have  fulfilled  the 
law,  had  they  been  fuffered  to  poffefs  that  difpenfa- 
tion.  2d.  Becaufe  John  the  baptiR  was  not  able 
to  magnify  the  law  and  make  it  h(jnorable.  3d. 
Becaule  Jefus  the  mediator,  in  whofe  hand  the  law 
was  ordained  by  the  diipofition  of  angels,  did  mag- 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  1 53 

nify  the  law  In  fulfilling  all  its  divine  requirennents, 
took  it  from  the  earthly,  and  glorioufly  honored  it 
in  the  heavenly  chara<::'ler. 

8th.  That  the  houfe  of  Ifrael  would  be  ftrippcd 
of  all  which  they  put  dependence  on,  is  meant  by 
taking  from  him  who  hath  not.  And  that  all 
righteoulnefs,  and  the  glory  of  falvation,  would  be 
given  to,  and  found  in  Jefus,  is  fignified  by  giving 
to  him  who  hath,  that  he  might  have  abundance. 

9th.  The  awful  ftatc  of  grofs  darknefs,  into 
which  the  houfe  of  Ifrael  was  caft  at  the  clofe  of 
the  law  difpenfation,  in  which  wc  fee  them  evea 
at  the  prefent  day,  is  meant  by  calling  the  unpro- 
fitable fervant  into  utter  darknefs,  where  were 
weeping  and  gnafhing  of  teeth. 

"  When  ihe  Son  cf  man  fhall  con^e  in  bis  glory,  and  all  the 
holy  angels  wi  h  him.  then  (hall  he  fit  u^n  the  throne  of  his 
glory.  And  before  him  fliall  be  gathered  all  nationi  ;  and 
he  Hiall  feparate  them  one  from  aoothsr,  as  a  fhcpherd  di- 
videth  his  fheep  from  the  goats  :  and  he  fhall  fet  ihe  (beep 
on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goals  on  the  left.  Then  fTiall  ths 
King  fay  unto  ihem  on  hrs  right  hznO,  Come,  ye  blcfled  of 
ray  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepued  for  ycu  from  the 
foundation  cf  the  woild.  For  I  was  an  hungred,  and  yc 
give  me  meat  :  I  was  ihirfty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink  :  I  was 
a  ftranger,  and  ye  took  me  in  :  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  : 
I  was  fick,  and  ye  villted  me  :  I  was  in  prifon,  and  ye  came 
uato  me.  Then  {}i;tll  the  righteous  acfwer  him,  faying. 
Lord,  when  faw  we  Lhes  an  hungred,  and  fed  thee  ?  or  thiif- 
ly,  and  gave  ihee  diiak  ?  When  faw  we  thee  a  (Iranger,  and 
took  thee  in  ?  or  naked,  and  clothed  ihre  ?  Or  when  fuw  we 
thee  fick,  or  in  prifon,  and  came  unto  ihee  ?  And  the  Kiog 
ihall  anfwer,  and  fay  unto  ihern,  Verily,  I  fay  unto  you.  in  as 
much  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  leaft  of  ihcfe  my 
brethren,  y:  have  done  it  unto  me.     Then  (hall  he  lay  alfo 


154  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

unto  tl;em  on  the  lett  hand,  Depait  from  me,  ye  curfed,  in- 
to evcrlafting  fire  prepared  for  ihe  devil  and  his  angels.  For 
I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  g^ve  me  no  me.tt  :  I  was  rhiri>jr> 
and  ye  g^ve  n:e  no  drink  ;  I  was  a  ftranger,  aad  ye  took  me 
not  in  :  n;  ked,  and  ye  clothed  me  not  :  fick,  and  in  ptifon, 
and  ye  vifitcd  me  not  Then  (liall  they  alfo  aufwer  him,  fay- 
ing, Lord,  v?hen  iv^f  we  fhee  an  hungred,  or  athirft,  or  a 
ftranger,  or  naked,  or  f^k,  or  in  prifon,  and  did  n^t  miniiler 
"unto  thee  ?  Then  (hall  he  aLfwer  then?,  faying,  Verily,  I 
fay  unto  ycu,  in  as  n.uch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  ore  of  the  leafc 
of  thefe..  ye  did  it  not  to  me.  And  ihefc  (Ivall  go  away  inta, 
evcrlafiing  punilhment :  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal** 

Mat.  sxv.  31 — 46. 

In  this  parable  of  the  fheep  and  goats,  I  inquire, 
ift.  The  time  to  which  Chrift  alJudes,  when  he 
faith,  *'  When  the  Son  of  man  Ihali  come  in  his 
glory  :"  or  what  we  ought  to  underftand  to  be 
meant  by  his  coming  in  his  glory  with  his  holy 
angels  ;  which  to  afcertain,  I  turn  to  the  words  of 
Chrift  in  St.  Matthew  xvi.  27,  28.  "For  the  Son 
of  man  ihall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father, with 
his  holy  angels ";  and  then  ihall  he  reward  every 
man  according  to  his  works.  Verily  I  fay  unto 
you,  there  be  ibme  ftanding  here,  which  (hall  not 
tafte  of  death,  till  they  fee  the  Son  of  man  com-  M 
ing  in  his  kingdom^  The  reader  will  turn  to  St.  " 
IVlark  ix.  i.  for  another  modificarion  of  the  fame 
fentence.  From  thefe  fcriptures,  kind  reader,  we 
muft  learn,  that  the  time  of  Chrift's  coming  in 
his  gli>ry,  with  all  his  holy  angels,  was  fometime 
in  the  life  time  of  thofe  who  attended  on  his 
preaching.  The  ever  to  be  remembered  day  of 
Pentecoji^  when  the  holy  Spirit  was  fent  in  fuch  a 
miraculous  manner ;  when  the  apoftles  of  the 
Lamb  that  had  been  ilain  proclaimed  with  flaming 


Notes  on  the  Parables^  i^^ 

tongues  the  power  of  the  refurredlon  ;  and  wiih 
glorious  efTed  preached  the  golpel  of  reconcilia- 
tiou  to  the  convcruon  of  thoufands,  was,  undoubt- 
£dly,  the  time  of  ChriR's  coming  in  his  gh-ry. 

2d.  By  his  holy  ai.gels,  are  meant  the  apolHes 
and  faithful  mi  lifters,  to  whom  Chrift  con^mitted 
the  treifures  ox  his  word,  as  unto  eartlicn  veflels. 
That  the  miniilerii  of  Chrifl  are  called,  in  fcrip- 
ture,  ar.gek,  the  reader  will  find  abund\ni  evi- 
-dence  in  the  divine  oracles. 

3d.  By  throne  of  g'.ory,  in  the  text,  is  meant 
the  mediatorial  office  of  the  Saviour. 

4th.  by  all  nations  being  gathered  before  him, 
I  learn,  that  all  nations  \i't:re  before  the  difpenfa- 
tion  of  the  gofpcl  in  which  he  came,  or  that,  that 
difpcnfation  would  pafs  in  due  time  on  all  nations. 

5ti).  By  fh^ep,  I  underftand  believers  in  Chrifl, 
who  hear  and  do  his  will ;  and  by  goats,  the  un- 
believer ifanding  in  the  law,  or  legal  character. 
Cltriif  himfelf  fuftained  the  character  of  the  goat 
Avhcn  he  was  made  a  fin  offer irg,  ihe  goat  being 
ufed  for  that  purpofe  in  the  prielthood  of  the  law, 
And  while  the  finner  is  in  a  (late  of  unbeiiet  of 
the  gofpel,  he  is  condemned,  and  the  iLrotb  of 
God,  in  the  law^  is  upon  him,  by  which  he  is  ap- 
poi:Ued  unto  deftruclion. 

6:h.  Righr  hand,  in  the  parable,  fignifies  the 
gofpel,  cv  what  is  the  iame,  favor.  Lek  hand,  in- 
tends the  law,  by  wjiich  the  carna4  or  old  man  is 
rejected. 

7th.  The  fliecp,  or  believers,  are  invited  to  the 
inheritarce  ot  tlie  kingdom  prepared  for  them 
from  the  four  d  it  ion  of  the  world,  which  is  alfo 
fj)oken  of  in  Daniel  vii.  18.  '*  But  the  faints  of  the 
IVb.  ft  Migh  flnll  t^ke  the  kingdom,  and  poflefs  the 
kingdom  forever,  even  iorevtr  and  ever.''    -Again, 


1^6  Notes  on  the  Tardhla. 

verfe  27.  "  And  the  kingdom,  and  dominion,  and 
the  grearnefs  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole 
heaven,  fli^U  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  faints 
of  the  Moft  High  \  whofe  kingdom  is  an  everlaft- 
ing  kingdom,  and  all  dominions y/7^z//y^ra^^  and  obey 
hini^  It  is  farther  neceflary  to  obferve,  that  thefc 
faints  are  judged  in  the  rightecmfnefs  of  Chrift, 
who  is  the  Lord  their  rightcoufnefs,  and  they  arc 
the  bleiTcd  ones  to  whom  the  Lord  will  not  impute 
iniquity,  but  to  whom  he  doth  and  will  impute 
rightcoufnefs.  Ihefe  have  been  ilain  by  the  law 
in  the  chamber  of  goats.,  and  are  made  alive  by 
faith  ill  him  who  was  dead,  and  is  alive  and  liveth 
forever  more. 

8th.  The  goats,  or  unbelievers,  are  addrefled  as 
follows:  "Depart  from  n^e,  ye  curfed,  into  ever- 
lafting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels," 
he.  Here  1  obferve,  for  the  hope  and  confolation 
of  the  candid  reader,  that  Chrijz  once  fufiained  the 
character  of  the  curfed,  when  he  ftood  in  our  law 
character,  being  made  a  curie  for  us  ;  "  As  it  is 
written,  Curfed  is  every  one  who  hangeth  on  a 
tree  ;'*  fo  the  unbeliever  being  judged  by  the  law, 
which  always  fays  to  the  linner,  in  aftate  of  unbe- 
lief, "  Depart,  ye  curfed,"  &c.  is  on  the  left  hand, 
and  by  the  law,  is  condemned  to  that  everlafting 
fire  which  appeared  on  the  mount,  from  whence 
the  law  was  given.  See  Exodus  xix.  18.  "  And 
tnount  Sinai  was  altogether  on  a  fmoke,  becaufe  the 
Lord  deftended  upon  it  in  fire  ;  and  the  fmoke 
thereof  afcended  as  the  fuioke  of  a  furnace,  and 
the  whole  mount  quaked  greatly.*'  i\nd  that  this 
Jire  will  finally  fubdue  rhe  wicked,  though  his  heart 
may  be  2iSjione^  \^e  learn  from  Jeremiah  xxiii.  29. 
*"'  Is  not  my  word  like  zjin  ^  faith  the  Lord  :  ar-d 
like  a  hammex  that  brcdkcih  the  rock  in  pieces :" 


l^Qtes  on  the  Parables.  1 57 

Thk  fire  is  prepared  for  the  de/inidion  of  the  devil 
and  his  angers  ;  and  is  everlatling  punilhment  to 
the  wicked,  fo  long  as  the  law  difpen(ation  con- 
tinues in  the  mind,  or  the  ^'(?//,  which  is  done  away 
in  Chrift,  remains.  But  the  believer,  whofe  right- 
coufnefs  ftands  in  the  character  of  a  rifen  Saviour, 
enters  into,  and  feels  the  enjoyment  of  that  eternal 
life  of  which  Chriil:  fpoke  in  St.  John  xvii.  3.  "/^nd 
.this  is  life  eternal^  that  they  might  know  i.hee  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jefus  Chriit  whom  thou  haft 
fent." 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  three  foregoing  parables  being  in  the  fame 
chapter,  and  all  connecled  witli  the  lame  thread  of 
-difcourfe,  it  appears  proper  to  treat  them,  in  this 
iiluftration,  in  conjunction. 

Great  ufe  has  been  made  of  thefe  three  parables 
to  enforce  the  fuppofed  reality  of  a  day  of  judg- 
ment, when  all  tlie  people  who  have  ever  lived  on 
thiseaith  will  perfonally  appear  before  the  judg- 
ment (eat  of  Chrift,  and  pafs  a  formal  trial,  and  be 
eternally  rewarded  according  to  their  works.  So 
that  after  mortality  and  all  temporal  things  arc 
palled  away,  fin,  condemnation  and  inconceivable 
torments  will  be  the  endlefs  employment  and  fuf- 
ferings  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  family  of  man- 
kind. 

Notwithftanding  this  opinion  has  been.  long  ef- 
tabliflicd  as  one  of  the  moft  eilential  articles  in  the 
chfifdan  faith,  has  been  fupported  by  the  learned 
•docfors  in  many  ages  of  the  church,  has  obtained 
general  confent  of  all  denominations  in  chriften-* 
dom,  is  now  regarded  by  the  great  majority  of 
chriftians  as  one  of  the  main  pillars  on  which  the 
churcli  is  founded  ;  iv^twithftanding,  it  is  their 
O 


158  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

pious  and  religious  opinion  that  if  this  fentimefft 
of  cndlels  damnation  fhould  lofe    credit  and   be  « 
generally  difbeiieved,  the  beautiful   fabric  of  the  | 
chriilian  church  would  give  way  at  the  foundation 
and  becoaie  a  heap  of  ruin^y ;  yet,  fu.ch  are  the  con- 
trary views  whi<:h  are  taught  in  the  fcriptures  and 
infuled  by  the  fpirit  of  divine  truth,  fuch  are  the; 
fentiments   of  the   gofpel  of  falvation,  Avhich  are 
entertained,  that  no  hefitation  is  felt  in  directing 
an  argument  againft  this  general  opinion,  which, 
without  doubt,  will  prove  it  erroneous.     That  the 
opinion  is  an  error,  is  evident,  and  muft  fo  be  con-f" 
lldered  from  the  following  important  and  felf-evi--: 
dent  fads.  > 

ift.  A  God  of  infinite  wifdom,  "knowledge,  pow- 
er, goodnefs,  jullice  and  hoiinefs  can  never  will 
that  which  amounts  to  an  infinite  evil.  Q  his  pro- 
pofition  is  furely  felf-evident,  as  there  could  not  be 
found  a  polTibility  of  defcribing  injuilice,  or  unho-. 
linefs,  or  the  contrary  to  infinite  goodnefs,  if  in- 
finite evil  be  confiftent  with  infinite  juilice,  good- 
nefs and  hoiinefs. 

2d.  If  any  portion   of  the  human    family  ard> 
findily   doomed  to  endlefs   mifery,  it   iriufl  hava- 
been    the  divine  determination,  even  before  the 
creation  of  man.     This  is  felf  evident  as  it  is  not 
pofiible  to  maintain  the  infinite  knowledge  of  the 
Diety  unlefs  it  be  allowed. 

No  one  would  be  unwilling  to  allow  that  the 
divine  being  knew,  before  he  made  mankind, 
what  would  be  the  iffue  of  every  trial  which  is 
fuppofed,  will  take  place  at  the  day  of  judgment. 
If  God  knew  how  he  himfelf  would  decide  every 
cafe,  it  furely  amounts  to  this,  that  every  cafe  was 
then  decided  in  his  unchangeable  mind. 


Notes  on  the  Parables*  r59< 

3d.  Allowing  it  to  have  been  the  divine  deter- 
mination, even  before  man  was  made,  that  any 
fhould  be  endlefsly  niiiferable,  it  is  felf-evident  that 
this  determination  was  not  purfuant  to  any  acl:,  or 
acls,  of  thofe  creatures  of  his,  thus  defigned  for 
fuch  mifery  ;  but  that  it  was  purfuant  or  confo- 
nant  to  the  divine  perfections,  fo  to  determine. 
'1  his  being  granted,  all  pretenlions  about  endlefs 
puniihment,  purfuant  to  the  iin  of  the  punifhed, 
is  utterly  prepcrfterous  and  deceptive. 

4th.  Without  faying  any  thing  about  the  divine 
perfections,  or  the  divine  determinations,  it  is  a 
Idf-evident  fa<5l,  that  neither  endlefs  happinefs  or 

:  endlefs  milery,  is  according  to  the  virtues  or  the  vices 
of  mankind  in  a  finite  ftate  and  in  a  limited  time. 
Ihis  we  know  to  be  felf-evident,  as  well  as  we 
know  that  an  hour  is  not  a  thoufand  years ;  or  as 
well  as  we  know  that  no  given  time  is  equal  to 
eternity  ;  as  well  as  we  know  that  finite  virtue  is 
not  according  to  infinite  holinefs,  or  as  well  as  we 
know  that  -d,  finite  vice  is  not  according  to  infinity. 
5th.  It  is  felf-evident  that  there  is  not  an  infinite 

\  drfference  between  the  moft  virtuous  and  the  moft 

|,  vicious  of  the   finite,   imperfed  fons    of  Adam. 

\  And  juil  as  well  as  we  know  this,  fo  well  we  know 
that  there  cannot  be  an  infinite  difference  in  any 
rewards  which  are  according  to  their  works. 

6th.  It  is  evident  that  a  doctrine  which  denies 
the  above  felf-evident  facls,  and  a  thoufand  more 
befides,  which  might  be  fi:ated,  if  necefifary,  is  not 
a- doctrine  taught  by  the  fcriptures  of  divine  in- 
fpiration.  And  that  the  fubjecl,  to  which  tlie 
thread  of  difcourfe  where  the  above  parables  are 
found,  applies  thofe  parables,  has  no  allufion  to 
any  fuch  circumftances  or   facts,  as  are  generally 


i6o  Notes  on  the  Parables.  I 

fuppofed,   will  now  be   attempted  to  be  fliown  j:? 
and  that  in  a  unifon  of  the  I'criptures  generally,      t; 

The  reader  who  wiihes  for  fcripture  infonna-^ 
tion  on  this  important  difcuHion,  will  by  no  means>^ 
conceive  that  his  patience  is  burdened,  though  thejt 
lubjecl  be  labored  in  fomething  of  a  lengthy  and 
particular  manner.  More  particularly  does  it  ap--; 
pear  neceflary  to  lliow  that  this  25th  of  Matthew  5 
has  been  erroneouily  underftood,  becaufe  whenij 
this  is  proved,  it  is  not  expecled  that  much  confi-  < 
dence  will  be  placed  in  a  doclrine  which  is  deiert-* 
ed  by  fuch  a  main  pillar  as  this  chapter  has  been  i 
coniidered  to  be.  To  Hiow  that  the  general  opin- 
ion of  this  chapter  is  ijiconriftent  with  the  thread  , 
of  difcourfe  into  which  it  was  introduced,  it  ap-t 
pears  necelTary  to  determine  with  all  the  certainty  • 
pollible, 

I  ft.  The  time  when  the  circumftances  exifted  to  - 
which  the  parables  allude. 

2d.  Out  of  the  arguments  which  determine  the 
firft  particular,  fiiow  the  true  application  of  thofe 
parables,  and: 

3d.  By  the  ailiftance  of  the  fcriptures  fhow  that 
the  common  ufe  of  thcle  parables  is  contrary  to 
the  fcheme  of  the  gofpel. 

As  is  obferved  in  the  notes,  this  chapter  begins  , 
with  the  w^ord  fben^  the  ufe  of  which  word  is  to 
defignate  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  would  be  - 
likened  unto  ten  virgins,  five  of  whom  were  wife  - 
and  five  of  whom  were  foolifh,  at  a  time  which  ' 
the  fpeaker  had  before  determined.     Thus  we  are  • 
naturally  led  back  into  the  24th  chapter  in  fearch  ; 
of  this  time.     And  hei'e  it  is  well  to  notice  that 
our  Savi(^ur  made  no  divilions  of  chapters  ;  chap- 
ter divifions  in  the  fcriptures  being  a  late  work 
for  the  convenience  of  fixing  a  concordance  to  the 


l^oies  on  the  Parables.  i6i> 

I   texts  of  fcrlpture.     When  our  Saviour  fy^kc  the 
above  parables,  no  more  than  a  common  period 
divided  what  is  written  in  the  25th  from  what  is 
written  in  the  24th  chapter.      Ihe  laft  particular 
fubject  noted  in  the  24th  chapter  is  what  the  lord 
of  the  undutiful  fervant  would  do  when  he  fhould 
come  in  a  day  when  the  fervant  looketh  not  for 
him.  ■■    This   was  to  cut  him   afunder,  and  to  ap- 
point him  his  portion  with  the  hypocrites,  where 
there  is  weeping  and   gnafhing  of  teeth.     It  will 
not  beconreiled  that  the  time  of  the  lordiS  com- 
ing, here  noticed,  is  the  time  when  the  bridegroom 
comcth,  noticed  in  the  parable  of  the  virgins,  the 
time  in  which  the  lord  of  the   fcrvants  came  to 
I  reckon  with  them,   noticed  in  the  parable  of  the 
I  talents,  and  the  time  when  the  Son  of  man  fhould 
!  come  in  his  glory  with  his  holy  angels,  noticed  in 
'  the  parable  of  the  Iheep  and  goats.     But  we  mufl: 
further  query  when  to  fix  this  time,  for  it  is  on^y  ^ 
I  fiid  in  the  laft  of  the  24th,  that  the  lord  of  that 
i  fervant  fhall  come  in  a  day  when  he  looketh  not 
for   him.     The   44th   verfe  of  the   24th  chapter 
reads  thus,     '•  Therefore  be  ye  alfo  leady  :  for  in 
■  fuch  an  hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of  man  com- 
cth.''    1  his  dacsuot  fix  the  time.     The  36th  verfe 
i  reads  thus,  "  Bat  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth 
no    man,  no,  not   the  angeis  of  hei^ven,  but  my 
father  only."     By  this  we  cannot  determine  the 
"\  time  fo  nicely  as  to  fix  it  to  a  day  nor  an  hour. 
Here  we  come  to  a  fpot  where  caution  is  particu-,.. 
j  larly  neceilary.     In  the  36th  verfe  where  the  Sa-. 
viour  fays,    "  But  of  //a//  Jay  and  hour  knozveibno 
man,'*  he.  he  evidently  alludes  to  a  particular  time 
which  he   Iiad  confined   within    the  limits  of   a 
more  general  one.    See  verfe  3 2d,  &c.  "  Now  learn 
a? parable  of  the  fig-tree  :  when  his  branch  is  yet. 
O2 


1 62  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

tender,  and  putteth  forth  leaves,  ye  know  that 
fummer  is  nigh  :  io  likewife  ye,  when  ye  fhill  fee 
all  thefe  things,  know  that  it  is  near,  even  at  the 
doors.  Verily  I  fay  unto  you,  this  generation 
ihall  not  pafs  till  all  ihefe  things  be  fulfilled.  Heav- 
en and  earth  Ihall  pafs  away,  but  my  word  fhali 
not  pafs  away."  The  next  words  are  thofe  be-  i 
fore  quoted.  But  of  that  day  and  hour  knczueth  no  \ 
man^  &c.  What  day  and  hour  ?  Anfwer,  a  day 
and  an  hour  which  would  certainly  come  in  that 
genera  tk)n. 

It  may   now  be  very  proper  to  look  and   fee^ 
what  tbin^i^s  are  meant,  where  it  is  faid,  "  This  gen- 
eration fiiciil  not  pafs  till  all  theje  ih'mgs  be  fuifilted,^'  " 
Tbe/e  things  here  mentioned  are  all  thofe  things  of 
which  Chriil  fpake  in  the  preceding  part  ot  Lis  • 
difcourfe,  which  begins  in  the  4th  verfe,  and  is  an  . 
anfwer  to  queftions  which  v/ere  ilated  by  the  dif- 
ciples  in  the  3d  verfe,  and  confifls  of  the  following 
particulars. 

ift.  Many  fliould  come  in  the  name  of  Chrlft: 
and  deceive  many. 

2d.  There  fhould  be  wars  and  rum.ors  of  wars. 

3d.  1  here  fnould  be  famines,  and  peftilences, , 
and  earthquakes  in  divers  places,  v/hich  are  faid  to-^ 
be  the  beginning  of  forrows. 

4th.  Some  ot  the  difciples  ihould  be  perfecuted 
unio  death,  tliey  Ihcmld  be  delivered  up  to  be  af- 
flicted andiliould  be  hated  of  all  nations  tor  the 
naine  of  CJirift. 

5ih.  Many  fliould  be  offended,  fliould  hate  and 
betray  one  anotlien 

6tii.  Many  taiie  prophets  fliould  arife,  and  de- 
ceive many. 

7 ill.  On  account  of  the  abounding  of  iniquity  ;, 
the  love  of  mai^y  fliould  v/ax  cold. 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  1 6 2, 

8th.  The  goipel    of    the    kingdom    fliould    be 

predched  in  aii  tiie  world,   tor  a  witnels  unto  ail 

'nations  ;  and  then  the  end  liiould  come,     i  hat  is, 

the  end  of  the  world,  of  which  the  difciples  afked 

him  in  the  3d  verfc. 

9th.  The  difciples  would  fee  the  prophecy  of 
Daniel  fulfilled,  where  he  fpeaks  in  chap.  ix.  27. 
of  the  ceaiing  of  the  facri(ice  and  oi^lation,  and  of 
the  overfpreading  of  the  abomination  which  mak- 
cth  dci'olate. 

10th.  He  exhorts  the  difciples,  when  they  fliould 
fee  the  prophecy  of  Daniel  fulfilled,  to  flee  into 
the  mountains,  if  they  fliould  happen  to  be  in  Ju- 
dea  ;  and  that  without  any  delay. 

I  ith.  A  v/oe  is  pronounced  on  thofe  who  fliould 
be  with  child,  -xxid  tht)le  who  fliould  give  fuck,  in 
that  time  of  trouble  and  diftrel's. 

1 2th.  The  difciples  are  direcled  to  pray  that 
their  flight  might  not  happen  in  the  winter,  nor 
on  the  babbath  day. 

13th.  Tijcre  flumld  then  be  a  titne  of  great  trih- 
ulati<»n,  fuch  as  was  not  fince  the  beginning  of  the 
world  to  that  lime,  and  fuch  as  never  fliould  again 
happen. 

14th.  As  no  flefli  could  l;e  faved,  unlefs  thofe 
diys  were  fliorteneJ,  they  fliould  be  fliortened  tor 
the  elecl's  lake 

15th.  Faife  i)rophets  fliould  arife  and  fhov/  great 
figns  and  wtjncicrs. 

16th.  He  exhorts  his  difciples  againfl:  any  vain 
p  etenfions  that  v  li:ift  is  n.oro  in  one  place  than 
another,  and  informs  them  that  as  the  lightning 
Cometh  r>ut  of  the  eafl,  and  ihineth  even  unto  the 
welt,  fo  would  be  the  couiirg  of  the  ^on  of  man, 

17th.  IiPnrediately  after  thi)ie  great  tribulations, 
the  luii  ihouid  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  fliould 


164  Notes  on  ihe  Parables, 

not  give  her  light,  and  the  ftars  fhould  fall  from 
heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heaven  {hould  be 
fliaken. 

i8ih.  Then  (hould  appear  the  ^^'^  of  the  Son 
of  man  in  heaven  ;  and  ail  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
fhouid  n^ourn,  and  fee  the  Son  of  man  coming  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory. 

19th.  The  Son  of  man  ih ould  fend  his  angels,, 
with  a  great  found  of  a  trumpet,  who  fliould  gatli-> 
er  together  his  elecl  from  the  four  v.inds,  frunv 
one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other. 

After  having  flated  ail  thefe  particulars  more: 
drcumftantially  than  they  are  here  fiated,  he  ufes 
the  parable  of  the  fig:tree,to  fliow  them  the  near.> 
r.efs  of    the  time  of.  the  accomplifhment  of    all 
things  of  which  they  had  afked  hirn.     See  the  32d 
verfe  and  on  ward,  which  has  been  noticed.   "  Now^ 
learn  a  parable  of  the  fig-tree  :  when:  his  branch 
is  yet  tender,  and  putteth  forth  leaves,  ye  know^ 
that   fummer    is  nigh  :  fo  likewife  ye,   when  ye^ 
Ihall  fee  all  thefe  things,  know  that  it  is  near  even 
at  the  doors-*'     Then  he  limits  all  to  that  gener- 
ation, in  as  politivea  manner  as  pofllble.     See  verfe 
34,  35.   ''  Verily  I  fay  unto  you,  this  generation 
ihall  not  pafs  till  all  thefe  things  be  fulfilled.    Heav- 
en and  earth  fhall  pafs  away, .  but  my  word  fhall 
not  pafs  away."     It  may  be  well  to  notice  in  this- 
place    the   queries    which,  the    difciples  ftated  to 
Chrift,  and  what  led  them  to  propofe  them;  fee< 
verfe  3,  "-  And  as  he  fat  upon  the  mount  of  Olives, 
the  difciples  came  unto  him  privately,  faying,  tell  us,^ 
when  ihall  thefe  things  be  ?  and  what  fhall  be  the 
fign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the. world  r" 
The  occafion,  which  led  the  difciples  to  flate  the 
above  queftic-ns,   is  found,  partly  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  and  partly  in  the  declaration  of  Chrift; 


Is oies  on  the  Parables.  165 

concerning  the  temple,  recorded  in  the  2d  verfe  of 
the  24th.  In  the  23d  chapter,  Jcfus  delivered  a 
Very  plain  and  moft  aiarniing  diicourfe  to  the 
fcribej  and  pharifees  ;  towards  the  conclufion  of 
which  he  informed  them,  that  the  wickednefs  of 
their  anceftors  and  their  own  wickednefs,  would 
be  puni(hed  immediately.  See  vevfe  34,  Sec. 
"  Wherefore,  behold,  I  fend  unto  you  prophets, 
and  wife  men,  and  fcribes  ;  and  fome  of  them  ye 
{hall  kill  and  crucify  ;  and  fome  of  them  fliall  ye 
fcourge  in  your  fynagogues,  and  perfecute  them 
from  city  to  city  :  that  upon  you  may  come  all 
the  righteous  blood  flied  upon  the  earth,  from  the 
blood  of  righteous  Abel  unto  -the  blood  of  Zach- 
arias,  fon  of  Barachias,  whom  ye  (lew  between  tlie 
temple  and  the  alt^r.  Verily  I  fay  unto  you,  ail 
thefe  things  Ihall  come  upon  this  generation." 
Here  obferve,  he  informs  them  that  judgment 
would  not  be  delayed  beyond  that  generation, 
which  agrees  with  the  time  which  he  limits  in  the 
24th  chapter  for  the  fulfillment  of  all  things  of 
which  he  fpake.  Jefus  then  in  a  moft  bitter  and 
affeclionate  lamentation,  informs  them  that  their 
houfe  fiiould  be  left  defolate,  and  that  they  fhould 
not  fee  him  henceforth,  till  they  fliould  fay,  "  Blef- 
fed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord** 
After  clofing  this  difcourfe,  Jefus  went  out  and 
departed  from  the  temple  :  and  his  difciples  came 
to  him  to  (liow^  him  the  buildings  of  the  temple  ; 
*'  And  Je^us  faid  unto  them,  lee  ye  not  ail  thefe 
things?  Verily  1  fay  unlo  you,  there  fliall  not  be 
left  here  one  llone  upon  another,  that  fhall  not  be 
thrown  down.  What  he  had  faid  to  the  fcribes 
and  pharii'ees  of  the  judgment  which  would  come 
upon  that  gener*Jition,  of  the  defolation  of  their 
houfe  J  and  what  he  faid  to  the  difciples  of  not  one 


166  Notes  on  ihe  ^arables,  .  ^ 

ftone'.s. being  left  upon  another,  led  them  to  ftate«  j 
the  queries. which  they  did  in  the. 3d  verfe.  To  fl 
thofe  queries^Jcfus  direcled  his fubfequent  difcourfe;^  '' 
and  all  which  he  faid,  till  he  ended  that  difcuurfe, 
he  direcled  to  the  general,  topic  of  their  queries. 
'Ihis  difcourfe  continues  until  the  clofe  of  the  25  th 
chapter.  When  Jefus  had  informed  his  difciples, 
as  has  been  noticed,  in  the  34th  verfe  of  the  24th 
chapter,  that  all  the  things  which  he  had  informed 
them  of  would  take  place  in  that  generation,  he 
faid,  as  has  been  noticed  before,  fee  verfe  36,. 
"But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  man,  no, 
not  the  angels  of  heaven,  but  my  father  only.** 
Here  it  is  as  evident  as  language  can  make  any 
thing,  that  Jefus  alluded  to  a  day,  and  an  hour, 
which  would  furely  take  place  in  that  generation. 
He  then  proceeds  to  ilio*v  how  things  would  be 
in  relation  to  a  number  of  particulars,  at  the  com- 
ing of  the  Son.  of  man,  which  he  before  iaid 
fhould  be  in  that  generation.  Thus  he  proceeds 
to  the  end  of  the  24th  chapter,  having  allulion  to 
no  other  time  than  to  that  unknown  day  and  hour 
which  fliould  as  furely  take  place  in  that  genera- 
tion,  as  his  words  were  true  ;  and  begins  the  25th 
chapter,  faying,  "Then  fhall  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  be  likened  unto  ten  virgins,"  he.  Thus 
we  find  the  three  parables  in  the  25th  chapter  all 
direcled  to  reprefcnt  by  fimilitudes  what  he  had 
before,  in  part^  delineated.  It  is  thought  niore 
proper  to  fay  in  part ^  becaufe  there  are  fome  par- 
ticulars embraced  in  the  parables,  which  are  not 
delineated  in  the  preceding  part  of  the  difcourfe. 
As  there  is  in  all  the  difpenfations  of  divine 
Providence,  an  outward  and  an  inward  order,  or 
i-n  other  words,  a  phyfical  and  a  moral  fenfe  ;  fo, 
ii  i3  juftto  underlland  the  whole  of  Chrift-s  dif- 


i^otes  on  the  Parables ,  i  67 

courfe,  in  anfwer  to  his  difcipies.  The  coming  of 
tlie  .^on  ot  man  in  the  difpcniation  of  temporal 
judgment  o\\  tiie  Jcwiih  luuion,  was  to  deftroy 
thcin  as  a  people,  to  reduce  the  remaining  political 
power  which  tliey  retaikcd  under  the  Roman  g('V- 
ernment,  to  dellroy  the  city  ot  Jerulalem  and  the 
temple,  aid  to  pc^ur  contufiiui  and  afHiclion  on 
the  Jews,  and  finally  to  bripg  on  that  pec-pie  a 
time  of  trouble  fuch  as  man  never  before  experi- 
enced. The  coming  of  the  8on  of  ni:m  in  the 
difpcnfition  of  the  g'^fptl,  was  to  dcilroy  the 
whole  iieavens  of  religious  order,  to  put  out  the 
lights  of  the  Levitical  prieiihood,  and  to  fiiut  the 
'door  tgainll  the  Jews,  fo  that  their  darknefs  and 
unbelief  fhould  etiect  all  which  tlie  prophets  had 
allotted  to  that  caufe,  and  to  introduce  the  gentiles 
to  the  light  of  the  gofpel,  to  the  bride-chamber  of 
the  fpirituai  bridegroom,  and  to  the  knowledge  of 
eternal  life. 

The  notes  on  thcfc  parables  fpeclally  regard  the 
coming  of  the  Son  of  Uian  in  the  difpenfation  of 
the  golpel.  As  it  feeins  reafonable  to  hope  tjiat 
enough  has  been  faid  to  fatisfy  the  candid  reader 
as  to  the  time  of  the  fulfihuent  of  the  fcriptures 
under  confideration,  notice  will  now  be  taken,  as 
was  propoled, 

2d.  Of  the  true  application  of  thefe  parables. 

Some  general  hints  having  already  been  given, 
on  this  iubjecl,  what  remains  to  be  done  rnay  be 
foon  con^ipriied. 

I  ft.  Ihe  kingdom  of  heaven  fhould  be  likened 
unto  ten  virgins  when  the  Son  of  man  fhould  come 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  as  defcribed  in  verfe  30, 
of  the  24th  chapter. 

2d.  'i  he  lord'  of  the  fervan«-s  fhould  come  and 
reckon  with  them,  when  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
fliouid  be  likened  unto  ten  virgins. 


1 68  Notes  on  the  Parables* 

3d.  1  lie  Son  of  man  came  in  his  gl^ry,  with  all 
his  holy  angels,  when  he  lent  hii  angels  with  a 
great  iound  of  a  truu^pet  to  gather  togeiher„his 
c\t^  from  the  four  winds,  from  c  re  end  of  heaven 
to  the  other,  as  defcribed  in  verfe  31.  of  the  24tli 
chapter. 

Here  the  reader  will  obfcrve  that  the  true  ap- 
plication of  thefe  parables  nieafuraliy  grows  out 
ot  ihetime  to  which  they  allude,  In  the  quellions 
flared  by  tl)e  dilciples,  they  afe  when  the  things 
fhould  be  of  which  he  had  Ipoken  to  ihe  fcribes 
and  pharifees,  and  to  them,  what  the  lign  of  his 
coming  and  of  the  end  of  tlie  world  fncuid  be  ; 
and  he  goes  on  to  aniwer  them,  and  continues  his 
anlV/er  until  the  chife  of  the  25th  chapter,  as  has 
been  before  obferved.  1  iiis  is  the  reafcn  why 
thele  parables  have  always  been  applied  to  the  end 
of  the  world;  and  fuch  an  application  is  acknowl- 
edged juft  ;  but  the  conimon  idea  of  the  end  of 
the  world  is  unfcriptural.  'Ihe  end  of  the  world 
of  which  the  difclples  afkcd  Jefus,  and  of  which 
he  fpake  in  his  anlwer,  was  in  that  generation. 
In  verfe  6,  of  the  24th,  Jefus  fays,  ''  And  ye  fliall 
hear  of  wars  and  rumors  of  wars;  fee  that  ye 
be  not  troubled:  for  all  thefe  things  mud  come 
to  pafs,  but  the  end  is  not  yet.'*  In  verie  14  he  fays, 
*'  And  this  gofpel  of  the  kingd<)m  fliail  be  preach- 
ed in  all  the  world,  for  a  vvitn^fs  unto  all  raticms, 
and  thcnjhall  the  end  corned  St.  Paul  fpeaks  of  the 
end  of  the  world  in  ift  Cor.  x.  11.  "•  Now  all 
thefe  things  happened  unto  them  for  enfamples ; 
and  they  are  written  for  our  admonition,  upon 
whom  tlie  ends  of  the  world  are  come."  Agnin 
in  lieb.  ix.  26.  "  But  now  once  in  the  end  of  the 
wi)rld,  hath  he  appeared,  to  put  away  fm  by  the 
facrifice  of  himlelf.'*     In    the  defcripiion  of  the 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  1 6^ 

-  and  of  the  world  it  is  very  proper  to  reprefent  a 

-  ceflation  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  fuch  as  the  fun's 
-being   darkened,  and  the  moon's  not  giving  her 

light,  and  the  ftars  falling  from  heaven,  and  the 
powers   of  the  heavens'  being  fiiaken.     This  dc^- 

■  cription  we  have  in  the  29th  veife  of  the  24th 
chapter,  as  what  fhould  take  place  in  that  gener- 
ation. That  fuch  figures  are  ufed  in  fcrip- 
ture  to  reprefent  the  deftruclion  of  cities  and  the 

♦  calamities  of  nations,  may  be  learned  from  the  fol- 
lowing pafl'ages.  See  tne  dcfolation  of  Babylon 
defcribed  Ifaiah  xiii.  9,  10.  "  Behold  the  day  o? 
the  Lord  cometh,  cruel  both  with  wrath  and  fierce 
anger,  to  lay  the  land  defolate  :  and  he  fhall  de- 

•flroy  the  finners  out  of  it.  For  the  ftars  of  hea- 
ven, and  the  conftellations  tliereof,  fhall  not  give 
their  light  :  the  fun  fhall  be  darkened  in  his  going 
forth,  and  the  moon  fhall  not  caufe  her  light 
to  fhine."  Again,  the  judgments  of  God  up- 
on Idum.ea,  Ifaiah  xxxiv.  4.  "  And  all  the  hoils 
of  heaven  fliaU  be  diflblvcd,  and  the  heavens  lliall 
be  rolled  together  as  a  fcroll :  and  all  their  hofts 
iliall  fall  down,  as  the  leaf  falleth  OxT  from  th^ 
vine,  and  as  a  falling  fig  from  the  fig-tree."  See 
the  deftruclion  of  Egypt,  Ezekiel  xxxii.  7,  8. 
"  And  when  I  fhall  put  thee  out,  I  v.ill  cover  the 

'heaven,  and  make    the  ftars  thereof  dark  ;   I  will 

'Cover  the  fun  with  a  cloud,  and  the  moon  fhiiU  not 
give   her  light.     All  the  bright  lights   of  heaven 

•will  I  make  dark  over  thee,  aifcffct  darknefs  upon 
thy  land,    fairh  the  Lord   God."     The   Prophet 

.Joel  chap.   ii.    28,   29,  30,  31,  alludes  to  the  fub- 

Jecl:  on  which  we  are  now  treating.  "  And  it  (hall 

come   to  pafs  afterward  fhat    1  will  pour  out  my 

ipirit  upon  ail  ileih:  and  your  fons  and  your  daugli- 

ters  fhall  prophecy,    your  old  men  fb ail  dream 

P 


170  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

dreams,  and  your  young  men  Ihall  fee  vifions,: 
and  alfo  upon  the  fervants  and  upon  the  handr 
maids  in  thofe  days  will  I  pour  out  my  fpirit. 
And  I  will  fliew  wonders  in  the  heavens  and  in 
the  earth,  blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  of  fmoke. 
The  fun  fliall  be  turned  into  darknefs,  and  the 
moon  into  blood,  before  the  great  and  terrible  day. 
of  the  Lord  come."  On  the  day  of  Pentecoft, 
Peter  declared  this  prophecy  of  Joel  to  be  fulfilling; 
fee  Acls  ii.  16,  &c.  It  appears  evident  from  a  care- 
ful examination  of  the  whole  fubje6l,  that  Jcfus" 
meant  to  reprefent  that  part  of  the  hcufe  of  Ifrael, 
which  rejecled  him,  perfecuted  him,  rejed:ed  his 
gofpel,  and  perfecuted  his  apoflles  and  difciples,  by 
the  fervant  who  hid  his  lord's  money,  and  accufed 
his  lord  of  being  an  hard  man  ;  by  five  foolifh 
virgins  who  -took  their  lamps  without  oil ;  bj 
goats  on  the  left  hand,  &c. 

2^6.  It  was  p.ropofed  to  fhow  that  the  .common 
life  of  thefe  parables  is  contrary  to  the  fcheme  of 
the  gofpel.  It  would  feeni  that  the  plain,  pofitivc 
and  particular  teflimony  of  Jefus,  that  thofe  things 
of  which  he  fpake  to  his  difciples,  in  anfwer  to 
their  queftions,  fhould  be  fulfilled  in  that  genera- 
tion, was  fufficient  to  ihow,  to  the  fatisfaciion  of 
any  unprejudiced  mind,  that  the  application  of 
thefe  parables  to  a  future  and  eternal  ftate  of  exift- 
ence,  is  totally  erroneous.  However,  on  a  fubjecl 
of  fo  much  confequence,  it  cannot  be  improper  to 
fhow^  that  the  com.mon  ufe  of  thefe  parables  is  di- 
reclly  againft  the  general  fcheme  of  the  gofpd. 
God  preached  the  gofpel  to  Abraham,  faying,  in 
thee  fhall  all  nations  be  bleffed..  See  GaK  iii.  8, 
This  bleffing  is  faid  to  be  iuilification  through 
faith,  in  the  text  referred  to.  Now  query,  can  it 
be  tliought  reafonable  to  fuppofe  that  thofe  who 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  1 7 1 

^'e  bleffed  in  Chrift,  with  juftification  throupjh 
feith,  will  fufTer  in  never  ending  rebellion  againft 
God  ?  See  Rom.  iii.  23,  24.  "  For  all  have  fmncd, 
and  corae  fliort  of  the  glory  of  God  ;  being  jufii- 
fied  freely  by  his  grace,  through  the  redemption 
that  is  in  Chrift  Jefus."  iv.  25,  "  Who  was  de- 
livered for  our  otiences,  and  was  raifed  again  for 
our  juftification."  v.  18.  "Therefore,  as  by  the 
offence  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  unto 
condemnation  ;  even  fo  by  the  righteoufneiV  of 
one,  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  juftifi- 
cation of  life.*'  Query  again,  do  we  do  juftice  to 
the  fcriptures,  when,  contrary  to  the  connexion 
in  which  a  paiTage  is  found,  we  apply  it  to  prove 
that  tliofe  who  are  freely  juftified  by  the  grace  of 
God,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Chrift 
Jefus,  by  his  refurreclion  from  the  dead,  and  by 
his  righteoufnefs,  will  be  finally  adjudged  and  con- 
demned to  never  ending  punifliment,  by  that  very 
mediator  who  died  for  their  offences,  and  rofe 
again  for  their  juftification  ? 

Again,  the  fcheme  of  the  gofpel  is  univerfal 
reconciliation.  See  Eph.  i.  9,  10.  "  Having  made 
known  unto  us  the  myftery  of  his  will,  according 
to  his  good  plcafure,  which  he  hath  purpofed  iji 
himfelf  :  that  in  the  difpenfation  of  the  fulnefs  of 
times  he  might  gather  together  in  one  all  things 
iti  Chrift,  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are  qn 
earth,  even  in  him."  Phil.  ii.  9,  10,  11."  Where- 
fore God  alfo  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given 
him  a  name  which  is  above  every  name  ;  that  at 
the  name  of  Jefus  every  knee  ftiould  bow ;  of 
things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things 
under  the  earth  ;  and  that  every  tongue  fhould 
confefs  that  Jefus  Chrift  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  father."     Col,  i.  19,  20.  "  For  it  pleafed 


172  .  Notes  on  the  F arables » 

the  Father,  that  in  him  fhould  all  fulnefs  dwell  ;^ 
and  (having  made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his , 
erofs)  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himfelf  ; . 
by  him,  I  Hiy^  whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or 
things  in  heaven."     It  feems  that  if  St.  Paul  had 
known  what  kind  of  teftimony  would  be  neceffary, , 
in  this  day,  to  lilence  the  arguments  of  anticlirift,  . 
he  could  not  have  furnifhed  any  that  would  have  r 
been  more  to  the  purpofe.     Who  will  undertake  : 
60  flv)w  the  propriety  of  fuppoiing  that  thofe  who 
are  gathered  together  in   Chrift,   who   bow   the  r 
knee  of  adoration  in  the  name  of  Jefus,  and  con- 
xefs  him  Lord  to  the  glory   of  God   the  father  \  • 
who  are  reconciled  to  God,  through   the  peace  - 
made  by  the  blood  of  the  crofs,  will  fufFer  endlefs  . 
cxclufion  from  this  reconciler  of  all  things  ?  Where  - 
is  the  propriety  of  making  ufe  of  parables,  which 
were  fpoken,  and  applied   to   events  wdiich   took  - 
place  in  the  firft  century  of  the  chriflian  era,  to 
prove  the  endlefs  puniihment  of  thofe  for  whom 
Chrifl  died  ? 

As  it  has  been  fhewn,  in  the  moft  ample  man- 
ner, that  our  Saviour   applied  thefe   parables   to  1. 
reprefcnt  the  favorable  reception  with  v/hich  fome 
would  be  bkil'ed  in  the  kingdom  of  his  grace,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  rejection  of  that   part    of 
Ifrael  who  rejeded  him,  on  the  other,  it  may  be 
proper  to  fiiow  that  it  is  contrary  to  the  fcheme 
of  the  goi|3el,  fo  to   explain   thefe  parables   as   to 
prevent  the  return   of  thofe  rejected  or  blinded 
Jews.     In  the  difcourfe  which  Jefus   delivered  to  ^ 
the  pharifees,  in   which   he  forewarned   them    of 
rhofe  judgments  to  Vv^hich  he  applied  the  gj^rables, 
there  are  the  following  things  worthy   of  notice, 
which  apply  to  the  prefent  fubjecf  : 

iftv  The  character  in   which  Jefus  reprefented 
thofe  pharifees. 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  1 73 

2d.  The  punifliment  which  he  pronounced  on 
them. 

3d.  The  fplrit  and  difpofiticn  which  he  mani- 
fefted  on  the  occahon  ;  and, 

4th.  His  prophecy  of  their  finally  obtaining  fa-- 
vor. 

ift.  See  Mat.  xxiii.  13.  "But  woe  unto  you, 
fcribes  and  pharifees,  Iiypocrites !  for  ye  ihut  up 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  againft  men  :  for  ye  nei- 
ther go  in  yourfelves,  neither  fuffer  ye  them  that 
are  entering,  to  go  in."  He  goes  on  ftiil  calHng 
them  hypocrites,  fools  and  blind  guides,  who  paid 
tithes  of  mint,  of  anife  and  cummin,  but  omitted 
the  weightier  matters  of  the  law,  judgment,  mer- 
cy and  faith.  He  likens  them  unto  whited  fepul- 
chres,  which  indeed  appear  beautiful  outward,  but 
are  within  full  of  dead  men's  bones,  and  of  ail 
uncleannefs.  He' calls  them  ferpents,  and  a  gene- 
ration of  vipers,  and  many  other  reprefentations- 
he  makes  of  their  wickednefs. 

2d.  He  pronounced  on  them  the  damnation  of 
helL  See  verfes  32,  ^'t^,  ''Fill  ye  up  then  the  mea- 
fure  of  your  fathers.  Ye  ferpents,  ye  generation  of 
vipers !  liow  can  ye  efcape  the  damnation  of  hell  ?" 

3d.  We  learn  the  fpirit  and  difpofition  which 
Jefus  manifefted  towards  thofe  ferpents,  and  this 
generation  of  vipers,  by  the  language  of  the  37th 
verfe.  "  O  Jerufalem,  Jerufalem,  thou  that  kiileft 
the  prophets,  and  floneft  them  which  are  fent  un- 
to thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy 
children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her 
chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not !" 
The  natural  fenfe  of  the  above  language  is  that  of 
tendernefs  and  love,  of  regard  and  pity,  of  com- 
panion and  mercy.  Luke  xix.  41,  42.  fhows  very 
pjainly  that  the  above  fenfe  is  correct.  "^  And 
P2 


174  Noles  en  the  F arables, ^ 

when  he  was  come  near  he  beheld  the  city,  and 
wc>^t  over  ir,  flaying,  if  thou  hadit  known,  even 
thou,  at  leaft  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  which.. 
belong  unto  thy  peace  !  but  now  tliey  are  hid  from 
thine  eyes.*'  To  fuppofe  that  the  Son  of  God  had 
iio  love,  mercy,  or  pity  for  thofe  who  rejecied  and; 
perfecuted  him,  is  to  deny  the  nianifeli  fenfe  of 
thefe  fcriptures,  and  many  more  beiides.  Here 
xk^w  the  queriil  may  wifli  to  aik,  If  the  Son  of 
Cxod  loved  thofc  whom  he  called  a  generation  of 
vipers,  why  did  he  not  difcover  to  them  the 
knowledge  of  his  gofpel,  and  grant  them  repent- 
ance unto  life  ?  To  this  queftion,  the  anfwer  is 
ready.  It  would  have  proved  the  fcriptures  of 
the  prophets  falfe,  which  they  proved  true  by  con- 
demning Chrift.  See  Acls  xiii.  27. ""  For  they 
that  dwell  at  Jerufalem,  and  their  rulers,  becaule 
they  knew  him  not,  nor  yet  the  voices  of  the 
prophets  which  are  read  every  fabbath-day,  they 
have  fulfilled  them  in  condemning  him." 

4th.  The  bleiled  Saviour,  when  he  pronounced 
thofe  judgments  on  that  devoted  people,  gave  a 
prophetic  token  of  their  finally  obtaining  a  divine 
knowledge  of  him.  See  Mat.  xxiii.  39.  "Fori 
fay  unto  you,  ye  fhall  not  fee  me  henceforth,  till 
ye  fliall  fay,  blelled  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name 
or  the  Lord."  It  may  be  well  to  aik,  who  were 
to  fee  Jefus  and  fliy,  blelled  is  he  that  cometh  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  ?  Anfwer,  Thofe  who  killed 
the  prophets  and  floned  them  who  were  fentuntc 
them.  Thofe  whom  Jefus  called  ferpents,  and  a 
generation  of  vipers.  Thofe  on  whom  lie  pro- 
nounced the  damnation  of  hell.  Thofe  fcribes  and 
pharlfees  whom  Jefus  calls  hypocrites,  and  com^ 
pares  them  to  whited  fepulchres.  In  a  v/ord,  they 
arc  the  fame  to  whom  he  laid,  "Publicans  and 


"Notes  on  the  Parables,  ijf 

harlots  go  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  before 
you."  The  ground  on  which  it  is  conceiv^ed  to 
be  fafe  to  build  our  hope  of  the  lalvation  of  thofe 
fcribes  and  pharifees,  is,  that  the  one  Mediator 
between  God  and  man,  manifefted  a  love  for  them, 
and  in  his  love  and  in  his  pity  he  died  for  them, 
and  rofe  for  their  juftification  ;  and  that  is  the 
proper  ground  on  which  alone  we  can  hope  for 
the  falvation  of  any  of  our  linful  race.  That  thefe 
deadly  enemies  of  Jefus,  who  were  finally  his  mur- 
derers,  were  the  objects  of  that  love  which  is 
ftronger  than  death,  is  evident  from  the  prayer  of 
the  dying  Jefus  on  the  crofs  :  "  Father  forgive  them^ 
for  they  know  not  what  they  do''  If  the  fuffcring 
Son  of  God  could  look  throus^h  the  blood  of  the 
everlafting  covenant,  and  fend  a  prayer  from  the 
blood'ftained  crofs  to  the  indulgent  ear  of  his 
Father,  who  always  hears  him,  to  forgive  his  mur- 
derers, it  muft  be  a  difhonoring  infidelity  to  fup- 
pofe  that  fuch  a  prayer  will  not  be  anfwered. 
The  humble  believer  in  Jefus  will  put  more  con- 
fidence  in  this  prayer,  than  in  all  the  fine  fpun 
metaphyfical  divinity  of  which  our  learned  dociors 
can  boaft  j  and  with  which  they  blind  the  eyes  of 
the  fimple. 

Notice  has  already  been  taken  of  St.  Paul's  ar- 
gument, wherein  he  fhows  that  thofe  Jews  who 
were  broken  off  through  unbelief,  froip  their  own 
olive-tree,  fliould  be  grafted  in  again, -and  that  the 
receiving  of  them  fhall  be  life  from  the  dead.  It 
feems  not  a  little  favorable  to  our  fubjec^,  that  St. 
Paul  fliould  fpeak  of  the  fame  thing  which  JefuB 
did  in  promife.  Jefus  fays,  "  Ye  fliall  not  fee  me 
henceforth,  till  ye  fhall  fay,  blelTed  is  he  that  com- 
eth  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  St.  Paul  fays, 
Rom,  xi.  26.  "  And  fo  all  Ifrael  fhall  be  faved  ;  as 


17^  •  i'^otes  on  the  Parables, 

it  is  written,  there  lliali  come  out  of  Sion  the  deliv- 
erer, and  (hall  turn  away  ungodlinefs  from  Jacob." 

As  St.  Paul  ufed  the  circumftance  of  God's  dif- 
pleafure  towards  the  children  of  Ifrael  for  the  in* 
iquities  of  which  they  were  guilt/,  as  a  warning 
to  the  chriftians  of  his  day,  we  ought  to  be  equally 
wife  in  ufmg  fimilar  circumftances  to  like  advan- 
tage. See  I  ft  Cor.  x.  5,  6.  "But  with  many  of 
them  God  was  not  well  pleafed  ;  for  they  were 
overthrown  in  the  wildernefs.  Now  thefe  things 
were  our  examples,  to  the  intent  that  we  Ihould 
not  luft  after  evil  things,  as  they  alfo  lufted." 
Verfe  ji.  "Now  all  thefe  things  happened  unto 
them  for  enfamples;  and  they  are  written  for  our 
admonition,  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are 
come."  This  is  making  ufe  of  the  judgments  of 
God  againft  fin,  in  one  age  of  the  world,  as  a  warn- 
ing againft  fimilar  fms  in  another.  So  ought  we 
to  do  y  and  in  this  way,  we  may,  with  much  pro- 
priety, accommodate  the  three  parables  in  the  25th 
of  Matthew,  to  the  chriftian  church  in  general,  to 
particular  denominations,  or  to  individuals. 

If  the  chriftian  church  have  apoftatized  from  the 
weightier  matters  of  the  gofpel,  as  the  Jewilli 
church  did  from  thofe  of  the  law  ;  and  if  they 
have,  like  the  Jevvdfii  church,  paid  more  attention 
to  outward  ceremonies  and  traditions,  than  they 
have  to  faith;  hope  and  charity^  the  three  precious 
jewels  of  the  gofpel ;  then  it  is  plain,  that  the 
chriftian  churchy  being.in  a  fim.ilar  fttuation  to  that 
of  the  Jewifh  church,  is  juftly  chargeable  with  the 
like  offences.  If  the  fame  fpirit  of  perfecution  has 
raged  in  the  chriftian-  church  as  did  in  the  Jewifli 
church,  then  we  may  fee  why  it  is  written  in  Rev. 
XV.  6.  "  For  they  have  fhed  the  blood  of  faints 
and  prophets,  and  thou  haft  given  them  blood  to 


W 


"Notes  mihe  T arables,  ^      177- 

dtink ;  for  they  are  worthy.'*  If  there  have  or 
do  exift,  in  the  chriftian  church,  an  order  of  clergy 
who  perfectly  refemble  the  ancient  fcribes  and 
pharifees,  whom  Jefus  called  hypocrites,  and  a  gen- 
eration of  vipers,  no  reafon  can  be  given  why  they 
do  not  as  much  deferve  the  damnation  of  hell. 
If  the  bleffed  Saviour  was  moved  with  pity  and 
compafHon  towards  that  generation  of  vipers,  and 
fpoke  of  the  time  when  they  fliould  fee  him,  and 
fay,  bleffed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  ;  if  there  be  any  now  who  poffefs  that  fpirit 
of  Jefus,  they  furely  feel  pitiful  and  companionate 
towards  thofe  who  arc  of  a  limilar  character,  and 
can  pray  for  the  time  to  come  when  they  may  fee 
the  Saviour,  and  welcome  him  to  their  penitent 
hearts. 

Wifdom  undoubtedly  direcls  all  denominations 
of  chriflians,  and  every  individual  profclfor,  to 
examine  with  caution  whether  they  have  the  true 
oil  of  the  fmcluary  in  their  veilels  with  their 
lamps,  or  whether  they  are  like  the  foolifh  virgins, 
polTefling  nothing  but  the  outward  forms  of  reli- 
gion and  godiineis,  without  the  power. 

Chriftian  prudence  undoubtedly  direcls  all  to 
the  rational  query,  wh  it  they  arc  doing  with  their 
lord's  money ;  whether  they  are  improving  by 
growing  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  Jcfas  Clirift,  or  whether  they  are  contenting 
themfelves  with  the  old  manna  their  fathers  col- 
lected. If  the  ]ev/s  who  rejecled  the  fpirit  of  that 
pure  religion  which  vilits  the  fatherlefs  and  the 
widow  in  their  aOlicfions,  were  tlierefor  condemn- 
ed for  noc  adminiiiering  to  Chriil:  in  his  neceilities, 
is  it  not  of  importance  that  profefiors  of  the  gofpel 
examine  to  know  how  their  conduef  frauds,  in 
comparifon  with  theirs  who  wcr(^iound  on  the  left 
Lind  in  the  parable  ?    . 


178  AWj  on  the  Parables. 

The  clofe  of  the  law  difpenfation  was  the  endrli 
of  the  world,  in  which  Chrift  came  to  put  away" 
iin  by  the  facrifice  of  himfelf :  and  then  the  Jew- 
ifli  church  was  judged  according  to  their  works^ 
under  that  difpenfation,  and  caft  into  outer  dark- 
nefs,  as  we  read  in  Mat.  xxv.  30,  "  And  caft  ye 
the  unprofitable  fervant  into  outer  darknefs:  there 
fhall  be  weeping  and   gnafliing  of  teeth.'*     Ihev' 
clofe   of  the  reign    of  antichrift,  as   defcribed  in 
Revelations,  is  the  day  of  judgment  to  the  anti- 
ehriftian  church,  which  muft  be  judged  according 
to  its  works.    See  Rev.  xviii.  5,  &c.  "  For  her  fins 
have   reached   unto  heaven,   and    God   hath  re- 
membered  her   iniquities.     Reward  her  even  as* 
Ihe  rewarded  you,  and  double  unto  her  double 
according  to  her  works:  in  the  cup  which  flic 
hith  filled,  fill  to   her   double.     How  much  flie 
hi-h   gloriiieJ   herfelf,    and  |lived  delicioufiy,  fo 
much  torment  and  forrow  give  her  :  for  fl:ie  faith  ' 
in  her  he?a*t,  I  lit  a  queen,  and  am  no  v/idow,  and 
ihali  fee  no  forrow.     Therefore  lliali  her  olagrues  - 
come  in  one  day,  death,   and  mourning,  and  fa- 
mine:  and  fhe  fiiall   be  utteny  burr. t  with  lire  : 
for  ftrong  is  the  Lord  God  who  judgeth  her.  And 
the  kings  of  the  earth,  who  have  committed  for- 
nication, and  lived  delicioufly  vv^ith  her,  ihall  be- 
Vv^ail  her,  and  lament  for  her,  when  they  ihall  fee 
the  fmoke  of  her  burning,  {landing  afar  off  for 
the  fear  of  her  torment,   faying,  alas,  alas!  that 
great  city  Babylon,  that  mighty  city!  for  in  one 
hour  is  thy  judgment  come.     And  the  merchants 
of  the  earth  fliall  weep  and  mourn  over  her  ;  for 
no  man   buyeth   their   merchandife   any  more." 
Thefe  are  the  merchants  who  have  fold  the  trea- 
fures  of  my  fiery  Babylon^  or  the  treafures  of  the* 
myilery  of  iniqi^ty.     Thefe,  like  the  fcribes  and 


Notes  en  the  Parables,  179 

^harifees  of  old,  are  unprofitable  fervants,  and 
muft  now  appear  in  the  judgment,  on  the  left 
hand,  and  be  cad  out  into  outer  darknefs  ;  now 
fhall  they  weep  and  lament,  that  no  man  buyeth 
their  merchandife  any  more  ;  now  will  they  gnafli 
their  teeth  on  thofe  who  burn  their  city  with  fire. 
As  thofe  who  received  Chrifl  and  followed  him 
in  the  regeneration,  had  thrones  appointed  them, 
io  is  it  now;  thofe  who  come  out  of  Babylon, 
and  rife  in  the  fpirit  of  life,  which  reanimates  the 
two  witnclTes,  are  thofe  whofe  voices  are  heard  in 
heaven.  See  Rev.  xi.  15.  "  And  the  feventh  an- 
gel founded  ;  and  there  were  great  voices  in  hea- 
ven/aying,  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become 
the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Chrifl: ;  and 
he  ihall  reign  forever  and  forever."  Thefe  are 
they  who  in  the  prefent  age,  anfwer  to  thofe  im 
ithe  parable,  who  entered  into  life  eternal. 


PARABLE  XXVII. 

''  Every  valley  fliall  be  filled,  and  every,  mountain  and  !iIH 
fliali  be  brought  low  ;  and  tKe  ^poked  (hall  be  made 
ftrai^ht,  and  the  rough  ways  (hall  be  made  fmooih.*' 

Luke  iil.   5. 

The  above  verfe  is  a  quotation  from  Ifaiah  x1. 
4.  who,  by  infpiration,  fpoke  of  the  coming  of 
Mefliah,  and  the  glory  which  fhould  follow.  And 
a  more  beautiful  reprefentation  of  the  univerfal 
and  glorious  eftecls  of  the  gofpcl  of  our  falvation, 
is  not,  perhaps,  to  be  found  in  all  the  allegories 
recorded  in  fcripture.  This  parable  affords  the 
following  pleafing  and  foul  rejoicjgg  truths : 


rSo  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

I  ft.  By  every  valley's  being  filled,  we  are  taught 
the  blejjings  of  the  ^^^/ on  the  low,  meek  and 
fuffering  part  of  mankind.  The  meek  are  charm- 
ed with  the  glad  tidings  of  falvation  j  the  low 
defpairing  foul,  Ihut  up  in  darknefs,  beholds  with 
rejoicing  eyes  fm  finifhed  on  the  crofs,  and  im- 
mortality brought  to  light  through  the  refurrec- 
tion  of  the  all  glorious  Conqueror  of  death.  Suf- 
fering mortals,  bound  in  chains  of  bondage,  cruili- 
cd  with  the  ponderous  weight  of  abfolute  power, 
are  taught  the  divine  certainty  of  the  deftru(ftion 
of  that  illy  exercifed  power  which  renders  even 
life  itfelf  vexatious  ;  and  are  bleffed  with  the  con- 
folations  of  that  hope  which  raifes  them,  from  dull 
and  chains,  to  contemplate  the  goodnefs  of  the 
great  Arbiter  of  nations. 

2d.  By  every  mountain  and  hill  being  broughC 
low,  we  underfland  the  reduclion  of  pride,  unlaw- 
ful ambition,  and  all  earthly  power  ftanding  op- 
pofed  to  the  divinely  meek  principles  of  Emmanuel 
and  his  glorious  kingdom.  How  humiliating  is 
that  grace,  which  pardons  the  many  follies  of  our 
lives,  to  that  towering  ambition  and  pride  fo  in- 
cident to  mank^fd.  How  weak  and  impotent  is 
that  foul  v/ho  is  reduced  to  fay,  "  Lord,  fave,  or 
I  perifh."  But,  O  !  the  deftiny  of  tyrannical  pow- 
er. Ye  tyrants  of  the  earth,  ye  have  magnified 
yourfelves,  ye  have  raifed  yourfelves  to  opulence, 
and  bathed  yourfelves  in  luxury  with  the  fweat  of 
vailals  groaning  beneath  infupportable  burdens 
impofed  by  injuftice  on  fervile  men.  Ye  have  fet 
no  bounds  to  your  ambition^  by  which  millions  are 
devoted  to  death ;  but  your  ki7igdo?iis  are  r.umbered^ 
2ind  fnijloed ;  ye  are  weighed  \n  the  balance SiDd  found 
wanting!  The  high  mountains  of  your  ftrength 
muft  be  broug^  low,  and  ail  your  power  muft 


fi^es  on  ihe  Parables.  i  S  i 

become    as  the   chafF  of  the   (iimmcr  threiliing 
floors.     Sec  Daniel  ii.  2)S*  vii.  9. 

3d.  By  the  crooked  being  made  ftraight,  wc 
learn,  that  man,  ^vho  has  become  crooked  and  per- 
verfe  by  the  ferpcnt's  guile,  v/i]l,  by  the  pczccr  and 
grace  of  x\\t  ferpent-bruijer ^  be  brought  to  divine 
rectitude. 

4th.  "The  rough  way  fhall  be  made  fmooth.'* 
This  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  way  of  which  we 
read  in  Ifaiah  xxxv.  8.  "  x\nd  an  high-way  ih  dl 
be  there,  and  a  way,  and  it  fhall  be  called,  The 
way  of  holinefs  ;  The  unclean  fliall  not  pafs  over  it, 
but  it  fhall  be  for  thofe  :  the  way-faring  men, 
thou^rh  fools,  ihall  not  err  therein.'*  I'he  way 
of  life^  which  was  reprcfented  by  a  former  para- 
ble as  dirncult  and  hard  of  paffiige  under  the  la^.v^ 
'by  the  gofpel  is  made  plain,  fmooth,  and  fo  eafy  of 
paHage,  that  he  who  reads  may  run,  and  even  fools 
may  walk  and  not  err.  In  the  verfe  fucceedlng 
our  text,  the  glorious  confequence  is  thus  Hated  : 
«'  And  alljlej}:>  ilially^^  the  falvatlcn  of  God.'*  For 
conhmation  in  tlie  right  fenfe  of  thefe  words,  the 
reader  will  obferve  God's  covenant  with  Noah  ; 
fee  Gen.  ix.  17.  *'And  God  faid  unto  Noah,  This 
is  the  token  of  the  covenant,  which  I  have  ellab- 
liflied  between  m.e  and  all  fie jh  that  is  upon  the 
earth."  And  to  make  this  divine  irulh^  if  pofliblc, 
more  evident,  fee  Ifaiah  liv.  9.  "  For  this  is  as  the 
waters  ot  Noah  unto  me  :  for  as  I  have  fworn  that 
the  waters  of  Noah  fhall  no  m^ore  go  over  the 
earth,  fo  have  I  fworn  tliat  I  will  not  be  v/roth 
.with  thee,  nor  rebuke  thee."  To  v/hichl  fubjoin 
•»the  teftimony  of  him  who  fpake  as  never  man 
fpake  ;  fee  St.  John  xvii.  2.  "  As  thou  liaft 
given  him  (Chrift)  power  over  all  fiejh,  tliat 
he  fiiould  give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as  thou  haft 


1 82  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

given  him."     Is  this  the  glorious  deHgn   of  the 
gofpcl  plan  ?  }Ay  foul  then  willies  it  prolperity. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

To  render  this  illuftration  inftru(5live,  relative 
to  univerfal  falvation,  a  few  of  the  correfponding 
pall;\ges  of  fcripture  will  be  introduced,  acconripa- 
nied  with  fonie  remarks.  Our  parable  feems  to  be 
predicated  on  the  prophecy  of  Ifaiah  xl.  i — 5.  1 
"  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  faith  your  ij 
God.  Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerufalem,  and 
cry  unto  her,  that  her  warfare  is  accompliflied, 
that  her  iniquity  is  pardoned  :  for  (he  hath  re- 
ceived of  the  Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  fins. 
The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wildernefs, 
prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,make  (Iraight  in  the 
defert  a  highway  for  our  God.  Kvery  valley  (liaU 
be  exalted,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  (liall  be 
made  low  ;  and  the  crooked  iliali  be  made  flraight, 
and  rough  places  plain.  And  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  fiiall  be  revealed,  and  all  flefh  fliall  fee  it  to- 
gether :  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  haih  fp(>kea 
it."  It  is  well  to  notice  the  following  particulars 
embraced  in  the  above  text :  J? 

iH:.  The  command  given  to  fpeak  comfortably 
to  Jerufalem,  and  to  comfort  her  as  a  people  own- 
ed of  God. 

2d.  The  neceffity  and  propriety  of  fpeaking 
comfortably  to  an  individual  or  to  a  nation,  is  on 
account  of  the  troubles,  adverfities,  or  fufferings 
through  w^hich  the  individual,  or  the  nation  has 
paiTed,  or  is  pafling,  and  their  being  a  favorable 
profpe<^  of  better  times. 

3d.  1  he  fufferings  alluded  to  in  the  text,  that 
Jerulalem  endured,  was  double  fumjldment  for  all  l^r 
fins* 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  1 8*3 

4tb.  The  comfort  with  which  Jerufalem  v/ns  to 
be  comforted,  was  the  pardon  of  her  iniquities. 

5th.  It  ifv  evident  that  this  Jerufalem  is  the  fame 
which  vv:is  in  the  days  of  Chrift,  from  the  pro- 
(phet's  proceeding  to  itate  the  preparation  of  the 
way  of  t!ie  Lord,  and  of  his  gh)rious  appearing. 
This  is  that  Jerufalem  of  which  St.  P.tui  fpcaks, 
Gah  iv.  25,  "  For  this  Agar  is  mount  Sinai  in 
Arabia,  and  anfwercth  to  Jerufalem  which  now  is, 
and  is  in  bondage  with  her  children.'* 

6th.  Jerufalem's  receiving  double  for  all  her  Tms, 
and  being  comforted  with  the  p:  ^don  of  her  ini- 
quities afterwards,  fhow  two  important  truths 
which  are  generally  difbellcved :  ill,  that  lia  does 
not  dcferve  endlefs  puniihment  ;  and  2d,  that 
an  equal  puniihxiient  for  fin  is  confiflcnt  with 
forgiven  efs. 

7th.  The  way  of  the  Lord  is  fo  prepared,  that 

when  his  glory  is  fully  revealed,  all  fiefii  (liall  fee 

it  together.     Pfalms  xcviii.  i,  2,  3.   "  O  fmg  unto 

the  Lord  a  new  fong;  for  he  hath  done  marvellous 

!   things  :  his  right  hand  and  his  holy  arm  hath  got- 

I  ^en  him  the  victory.  The  Lord  hath  made  known 

'   his   falvation  :    his  righteoufnefs  hath   he  openly 

.   (lie wed  in  the  fij^ht  of  the  heatJaen.     He  hath  re- 

i   membered  his  mercy  and  his  truth  towards  the 

I  houfe  of  HVael :    all  the  ends  of  the  earth  have 

feen  the  falvation  of  our  God.'* 

ifl.  This  new  fono:  is   the  iox\z  of  Mofes  tjie 

fervant    of     God   and  the    i^ong   of    the   Lamb, 

which  is  fung  by  thofe  flanding  on  the  fea  of  glais 

\   mingled  with  fire,  noticed  in  Rev.  xv.  and  this 

fc  their  fong.     See  verfe  3,  4,  ''  And  they  ling 

the  fong  of  Mofes   the  fervant  of  God,  and  the 

I    fong  of  the  Lamb,  fiiying,  great  and  marvellous 

ai^e   thy   works,  Lord  God   Almlglity  -,  jull   and 


184  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

true  are  thy  ways,  thou  king  of  faints.  Who 
(hall  Tiot  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name? 
for  thou  only  art  holy  ;  for  all  nations  Ihall  come 
and  worfhip  before  thee  :  for  thy  judgments  are 
inade  manifeil.''  By  this  fong  it  appears  that  the 
judgments  of  God  will  terminate  in  bringing  all 
nations  to  worihip  the  true  God,  whom  to  know 
is  life  eternal. 

2d.  The  viclory  obtained  by  God's  right  hand 
and  holy  arm,  is  the  vicliory  of  the  feed 
of  the  woman  over  the  fcrpcnt,  whofe  head 
lie  bruifes ;  the  viciory  of  him  who  is  able  to/ub- 
due,  even  all  things  to  himfelf ;  the  victory  of  him 
who  muft  reign  until  he  has  put  all  things  under' 
liis  feet. 

3d.  The  falvation  and  righteoufnefs  which  God 
Jiarh  made  knov/n   and  fliewed   openly,   are   thatJi 
ri2:htcoufnefs    and   falvation    of  which    St.    Paul' 

o 

fpcaks  in  Rom.  v.  18.  "Even  fo  by  the  right eovfvefs 
of  one  the  fiee  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  jufti- 
ficatijn  of  life/'  '\\\\%  jufc  if  cation  uuto  life,  is  the 
f-ilvation  which  is  wroucrht  by  the  righteoufnefs  of 
'God. 

4th.  God's  mercy  and  truth,  which  he  hath  re-* 
membered  towards  the  houfe  of  Ifrael,  is  exprefled 
by  St.  Paul,  Rom.  ix.  4,  5.  "  Who  are  Ifraelites  ; 
to  whom  pertaineth  the  adoption,  and  the  glory, 
and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and 
the  fervice  of  God,  and  the  promifes ;  whofe  are  ■ 
the  fathers,  and-  of  whom,  as  concerning  the  flefh, 
Chriil  caaie,  who  is  over  all,  God  bleffed  forever, 
amen." 

The  fulfilm.cnt  of  all  thofe  things  are  noticed  as^ 
follows  :  See  Ads  xiii.  32,  33.  "  And  we  declare^ 
unto  you  glad  tidings,  how  that  the  promife  which 
was  made  unto  the  fathers,  God  hath  fulfilled  the 


Nsies  en  the  Parables.  1S5 

fame  unto  us  their  cliildren,  in  that  he  hath  raifecl 
up  Jefus  again  ;  as  it  is  alio  written  in  the  fccond 
Pfalm,  thou  art  my  foti  ;  this  day  have  I  begotten 
thee. 

5th.  The  joy  of  this  ne\v  fong  is  completed 
with  the  fentiment,  prophetically  expreiled  in  the 
nioft  poiitive  form,  that  all  the  ends  of  the  eartli 
fliall  fee  the  lalvation  of  our  God.  In  the  appli- 
cation of  the  parable  it  is  faid,  "  And  all  Jiejh  fliall 
fee  the  falvation  of  God.""  Correfponding  with 
this  mode  of  expreiHon  are  tlie  words  of  the  bicf- 
fed  Saviour  in  St.  John  xvii.  2,3.  "  As  thou  haft 
given  him  power  over  all  Jle/h,  \h^t  he  fhould  give- 
eternal  life  to  as  many  as  thou  haft  given  him. 
And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  knov/ 
thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jefas  Chrift  whc)in 
thou  haft  lent."  Note  ift.  in  this  piiffage,  tiie 
word  as  con!\eci:s  what  folio v.'s  with  what  precedes, 
and  Ihcws  th.it  power  over  all  jisjh  was  given  to 
Chriil,  that  he  might  glorify  his  fatlier  according 
to  the  extenfivencfs  of  that  power,  in  giviiig  eter- 


nal life  to  all  over  whom  he  had  received 


po 


wcr 


which  is  aJlJl^Jh,  2d.  Tliis  eternal  life  coniilis  in 
knowing  God,  and  Jefas  Chrift  whom  God  has 
fcnt.  'Ihercfcirc,  3d.  dhe  true  gofpel  miniftry 
confifts  in  comnmnicating  the  knowledge  of  God, 
as  revealed  in  Chrift,  to  mankind,  4th.  The  con- 
clufion  is,  that  in  the  mir.iftry  of  the  gofpel,,  no- 
thing but  lire  eternal  to  all  flefli  is  dlfpenfed.  Tiie 
declaration  of  the  angel  of  God  to-  the  Ihepherds, 
on  the  birth  of  the  Saviour,  is  direclly  to  our  fab- 
jecl.  See  St.  Luke  ii.  10,  11.  "And  the  angel 
laid  unto  them,  fear  not ;  for,  behold,  I  bring  you 
good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  ihall  be  to  nil 
people.  For  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the 
City  of  David,  a  Saviour,which  is  Chriil  the  Lord.'*" 

0.2 


1 85  TNV.'j  on  the  Parables. 

Remark  ift.  Ic  cannot  be  reafonable  to  fuppofe 
that  this  angel  of  God  would  declare  an  untruth. 
2d.  lie  fpake  oi' great  joy^  which  fhould  be  unto 
all  people.  Clonclufion,  agreeably  with  the  fcrip- 
tures  before  quoted  :  All  the  ends  of  the  earth 
fhali  fee  the  falvation  of  our  God.  And  all  flefli 
fhall  fee  the  falvation  of  God.  The  great  joy  of 
lalvation  fnall  be  unto  all  people. 


PARABLE  XXVIII. 

*'  There  was  a  certain  creditor  which  bad  two  debtors ;  ih« 
cne  owed  nve  hundred  pence,  and  the  other  fifty  :  and, 
vhen  they  had  nothing  to  pay,  he  frankly  forgave  them 
both."  Luke  vil.  41,  42, 

THESE  words  wf:re  fpoken  that  a  queftion 

Hiight  be  dated  from  them,  which  would  every 

way  confound  Simon  the  pliarifee,  who,  though 

lie  had  invited  jefus  to  ncceifary  accommodations 

in  his  houfe,  yet,  entertained  no  very  high  opinion 

of  him.     Chriil  beina:  feated  at  meat  in   Simon's 

lioufe,  a  woman,  wlm  was  a  fmner,  came  in  w^ith 

an  ahibafler  box  of  ointment,  and  ftood  at  his  feet 

beliind  liim  weeping;    fhe   alio   waflied   his   feet 

with  her  tears  and  wiped  them  with   the   hair   of 

her    head ;    fhe   kilTed    them    affectionately    and 

noiiued  tlieiri  with  the  ointment  ;  which  when 

;imon  faw,  he  faid,  within  himfelf,  "If  this  man 

va:s  a  prophet,  he  \\'ould  know   who,   and   what 

Kinner  of  wouian  this  i.^^  that  toucheih  him  ;  for 

ae  is  -^finncr"     By  this,  ii  is  evident,  that  Siuion 

id  not  lock  on  himfelf  to  be  a  fmner  as  was  the 

/Oman.     1  urther,  that  he  believed  Chrift  \A'as  an 


l^otes  on  the  Parables.  i  tj 

impoflor^  as  he  pretended  to  a  wifdom  which 
would  certainly  have  enabled  him  to  diilinguith 
between  the  righteous  and  the  wicked :  and  if 
Chrill  had  known  that  the  woman  was  a  finner^ 
he  would,  by  no  means,  have  fuffered  her  to  come 
nigh  him,  much  lefs  to  do  thofe  offices  for  him. 
Thefe,  undoubtedly,  are  the  thoughts  which  Si- 
mon had  on  that  occafion.  In  the  parable,  Chrift 
makes  his  ftatement  according  to  the  pharifee*s 
ideas  of  himfelf  and  of  the  woman. 

ift.  Chrill  reprefents  himfelf  by  a  creditor  who 
had  two  debtors. 

2d.  The  woman  is  reprefented  as  a  great  finner, 
by  the  debtor  who  o  wed yi'i;^  hundred  pence, 

3d.  Simon  the  pharifee,  is  reprefented  by  the 
debtor  who  owed  only  fifty  pence. 

4th.  That  finners  have  no  power  to  atone  for 
their  fins,  is  Ihown  by  the  debtors'  having  nothing 
to  pay. 

6th.  The  pardoning  mercy  of  the  gofpel,  by 
which,  both  pliarifees  and  finners  finally  obtain 
forgivenefs  of  fin,  is  (liown  by  the  creditor's  for- 
giving both.  Chrill  then  aiks  Simon,  "  Which 
of  them  will  love  him  m.oft  ?"  Simon  anfwers,  "  I 
fuppofe  he,  to  whom  he  forgave  mofl: ;"  by  which 
anfwer,  this  felf  righteous  pharifee  was  entirely- 
refuted  in  refpect  t(/  his  notions  of  righteoufnefs. 
For,  admitting  Simon  to  be  as  holy  as  he  looked 
on  himfelf  to  be,  and  the  woman  as  great  a  finner 
as  he  fuppofed,  (he  not  only  ilood  in  more  need 
of  mercy  than  he,  but  would  furely  love  Chrift 
better,  in  the  lame  ratio  as  her  fins  were  greater, 
or  more  numerous  than  his.  '1  his  was  fomeihing 
of  a  ufuai  method  with  the  Saviour  ;  he  generally 
confounded  his  adverfaries  on  the  ground  of  their 
own  choice.     But  had  Simon's  fins  been  fet  in 


iSS  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

order  before  him  at  that  time,  as  Saul^s  were  af- 
terwards, no  doubt  he  would  have  confeffed  the 
debt  oijive  hundred  pence ^  and,  humbling  himfelf, 
would  have  rejoiced  in  him  who  deigned  to  for- 
give. 

ILLUSTRATION. 
That  darling  notion,  which,  in  all  ages  of  the 
world,  has  been  fo  acceptable  to  religious  people, 
that  favorite  opinion  of  a  total  difference,  in  the 
fight  of  God,  between  the  true  worfhippers,  and 
thofe  who  were  not,  was  as  much  contended  for 
in  the  days  of  Ghrift  on  earth,  as  it  is  now  ;  and 
it  appears  evident  that  Simon  the  pharifee  was  as 
fully  in  this  current  fentiment  as  any  are  in  this 
day.  The  effect  which  this  opinion  had  on  Simon, 
was  the  fame  that  is  now  produced  from  the  fame 
caufe.  Simon  fuppofed  that  Chrift  was  no  prophet 
becaufe  he  did  not  know  what  manner  of  woman 
that  was  who  fhewed  fo  much  affeclion  for  him. 
See  verfe  39.  "  Now  when  the  pharifee,  which 
had  bidden  him,  faw  it,  he  fpake  within  hin:jfelf, 
faying.  This  man,  if  he  were  a  prophet,  would 
have  known  who  and  what  manner  of  woman 
this  is  that  toucheth  him  ;  for  flie  is  a  finner." 
Simon  furely  would  not  have  entertained  any  bet- 
ter opinion  of  Jeiiis  if  he  had  known  that  he  did 
know  what  manner  of  woman  that  was,  and  ftill 
indulged  her  approach  to  himfelf  ;  for  then  even 
ignorance  could  not  have  been  plead  to  extenuate 
the  offence.  It  was,  therefore,  the  mofl  favorable 
Gonclufion  which  Simon  could  make,  to  fuppofe 
that  Jefus  was  indeed  no  prophet,  and  was  igno- 
rant of  the  fmfulnefs  of  that  wi)nian.  It  is  but 
juft  to  notice  alfo,  that  this  pharifee  was  deferving 
of  commendation,  not  only  for  being  difpofed  to 
make  the  mofl  favorable  conclulion  poffible  in  this 


Isotes  on  the  Parables.  189 

cafe,  but  for  being  one  of  tlie  mod  decent  and 
civil  of  his  order,  for  he  did  not  break  out  in  a 
rage,  and  order  his  gueft  out  of  his  houfe;,  nor  did 
he  fpeak  of  the  unfavorable  opinion  which  he  was 
obliged  to  entertain  of  Jefus,  to  others,  but  only 
fpake  of  it  within  himfelf.  Therefore,  while  wc 
iind  the  fentiment  of  Simon  perfeclly  to  agree 
with  the  fentiment  of  the  pharifecs  in  the  prefcnt 
day,  wc  find  in  his  conduct  an  example  worthy 
of  their  imitation. 

The  fentiment,  communicated  by  the  foregoing 
parable  and  application,  is  fubjed  to  the  following 
objections,  from  the  doctrine  of  the  pharifees,  as 
ftated  in  tlie  iirfl  of  this  illudration  : 

ifl.  if  the  great  finner  may  obtain  forgivenefs 
as  well  as  he  whofe  fins  are  much  lefs,  then  there 
is  no  encouragement  to  do  well. 

2d.  If  the  great  finner  will,  in  confequence  of 
being:  foro-iven,  love  the  Saviour  more  than  he 
whofe  fins  are  much  lefs,  it  appears  to  be  an  en- 
couragement to  add  iniquity  to  tranfgrellion,  and 
to  become  as  finful  as  p^/ilible,  io  that  the  greater 
love  may  be  exercifed  when  forgivenefs  is  obtained. 

3d.  The  whole,  when  put  together,  amounts  to 
this  :  Sin  is  better  than  righteoufnefs,  vice  is  bet» 
ter  than  virtue,  irreligion  is  better  than  religion, 
and  it  is  no  matter  how  bad  people  act  ;  the  righ- 
teous, who  pay  fi:ricl  attention  to  the  things  of 
religion,  and  abilain  from  a  thoufand  enjoyments 
of  this  life,  are  mere  fools  for  all  their  pains  ;  it 
would  be  as  well  for  them,  and  even  better,  if 
they  ih')uld  indulge  themfelves  in  all  manner  of 
vice  and  wickednels. 

4th.  It  muR  be  evident  to  every  rational  mind, 
th  It  fuch  ilocTrine  is  falfe,  and  that  whoever  teache* 
fucli  doctrine,  is  an  enemy  to  the  truth. 

^- 


190  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

The  foregoing  objections  are  as  naturally  draw* 
from  the  doclrine  of  the  pharifees,  which  doc- 
trine is  the  current  doclrine  of  the  chriftian 
church  in  the  prefent  day,  as  darknefs  is  the  natur- 
al confequence  of  the  abfcncc  of  light.  'Ihefe  ob- 
je6l!ons  may  be  thus  aniwcred.  ril.  If  Jcfus  fpake 
this  parable,  in  its  peculiar  fi)rm,  with  a  defign  ta 
anfvver  Simon  according  to  his  Ovvn  views  of  his 
being  lefs  a  fmner  than  th.it  woman  was,  it  is'  by- 
no  means  necefury  to  funpofe  that  Jefus  looked  on 
the  woman  to  be  any  more  linful  than  bimon. 
Therefore,  if  Simon  was  as  2;reat  a  iinncr  as  the 
woman,  he  would  love  Jefus  as  well  as  the  womaa 
did,  when  he  ftmuld  know  himfelf,  and  feel  his- 
iins  forgiven,  2d.  If  no  one  can  enter  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  unlefs  their  riQ-hieouinefs  exceed* 
the  righteoufnefs  of  the  fcribes  and  pharifees,  it  is^ 
evident  that  both  ancient  and  m.odern  pharifees- 
are  equally  dependent  on  the  Lord  our  righteouf- 
nefs, for  juflification  unto  life,  as  others.  3d.  It  is 
evident  that  the  pharifees  have  a  miftaken  notion 
of  (in,  righteouinefs,  vice,  virtue,  irreligion  and 
religion.  All  their  righteoufnefs,  their  virtue  and 
their  religion  is  confiifent  with  an  un reconcilable 
enmity  towards  thofe  who  do  not  agree  with  them 
in  opinions  and  religious  rites.  This  enmity  be- 
ing directly  contrary  to  the  love  which  Jefus  man- 
ifefled  towards  Unners,  we  are  authorifed  to  be^ 
lieve  that  fuch  enmity,  and  all  the  righteoufnefs, 
virtue  and  religion  which  are  conliflent  with  it, 
are  oppofed  to  the  Lord  our  righteoufnefs  and  to 
his  gofpel.  4th.  It  is  evident  that  Jefus  of  Nazar- 
eth preached  a  righteoufneils,  a  fyllem  of  moral 
virtue,  and  taught  a  religion,  which  were  confift- 
ent  with  love  to  finners,  and  the  forgivenefs  of 
fins.     Therefore,  to  be  active  in  the  righteoufnefs^ 


thtes  on  the  Tarabki,  lOi 

virtue  and  religion  ofChriil.it  is  neceflary  for  us  to 
feel  the  need  and  benefits  of  forgivenefs  ourfelves, 
and  to  be  difpofed  thereby  to  grant  the  fame  in- 
eflimable  bleffing  to  others  who  Hand  in  the  fame 
need. 

It  will  be  granted,  on  all  fides,  that  this  woman 
pofleffed  more  of  the  fpirit  of  Chrift  than  Simon 
did.  This  is  evident  from  what  Jefus  faid  to  Si- 
mon, fee  verfe  44 — 46,  "  And  he  turned  to  the  wo- 
man, and  faid  unto  Simon,  feefl:  thou  this  woman  ? 
I  entered  into  thine  houfe,  thou  giveft  me  no  wa- 
ter for  my  feet  :  but  fhe  hath  wafhed  my  feet 
with  tears,  and  wiped  them  with  the  hairs  of  her 
head.  Thou  giveft  me  no  kifs :  but  this  woman, 
fince  the  time  I  came  in,  hath  not  ceafed  to  kifs 
my  feet.  Mine  head  with  oil  thou  didft  not 
anoint :  but  this  woman  hath  anointed  my  feet 
with  ointment."  From  this  it  is  fafe  to  conclude, 
that  thofe  who  are  difpofed  to  pour  forth  the  tears 
of  penitence  and  gratitude  at  the  feet  of  Iiim  who 
forgives  our  many  fins,  are  pofifelTed  of  more  of  the 
fpirit  of  Clirift,  than  thofe  who  deny  him,  becaufc 
he  receiveth  iinners  and  has  compaflion  upon  them. 

Notwithilanding  Simon,  who  was,undoubtedly, 
a  man  of  a  refpeclable  charader,  of  an  honorable 
ftanding  in  the  religious  order  to  which  he  belong- 
ed, of  a  good  natural  difpofition,  and  a  tolerable 
difcerning  mind,  on  account  of  his  religious  edu- 
cation, was  led  to  think  that  Jefus  was  no  prophet, 
and  that  he  did  not  know  what  manner  of  wo- 
man that  was  who  approached  him,  yet  he  was 
that  prophet  of  whom  Mofes  fpakc,  Deut.  xviii. 
15.  "  The  Lord  thy  God  will  raifc  up  unto  th^e  a 
prophet  from  the  n  idft  of  thee,  of  thy  brethren, 
like  unto  me  ;  unto  him  ye  Ihall  harken.*'  And 
he  not  only  knew  what  manner  of  woman  that 


192  Notes  en  the  T arables* 

was,  but  he  alfo  knew  the  thoughts  of  Simon's 
heart,  and  was  divinely  wife  to  reprove  him,  and 
to  corred  his  religious  errors. 

And  notwithllanding  there  be  many  in  the  pre- 
fent  day,  of  whom  we  might  Ipcak  and  think  as 
favorably  as  we  have  above  of  Sinic  n,  who  now 
have  the  iauie  opinit  n  of  \\\c  true  Ipirlt  of  Jefus 
Chiiit,  as  biinon  had,  uho  now  reject  that  bleffed 
fpirit  of  pardon  and  foigivenels  wiih  as  n  uch  re-- 
ligious  zeal  as  the  pharilees  in  general  did  Jefus, 
and  though  they  call  this  divine  niafier  of  the 
houie,  lieeiztbub,  and  thofe  of  his  houithold  no-^ 
thing  better,  yet  this  bleiiedlpirit  is  a  dilcerner  of 
the  thoughts  and  intents  of  their  hearts,  nnd  a 
wife  reprover  of  their  unbelief  and  religious  big- 
otry, 

PARABLE  XXIX. 

"  And  Jefus  anfwerlng  Taid,  A  cerlairi  msn  went  down  frcm 
JsiulalcKi  to  Jericho,  and  fell  among  ihieves,  which  ftripped 
him  of  his  raiment,  and  wrunc  ed  hinrj,  and  deparieJ,  leaving 
him  half  dead.  An  J  by  chr.nce  there  capje  down  a  ceruia 
prieft  that  way  ;  and  when  he  faw  him  he  pafTcd  by  on  ihc 
oiher  fide.  And  likewife  a  Lcvite,  when  he  Wus  at  the  piace» 
c^tiie  and  locked  oil  him,  and  p.^fie-t  by  on  the  oihei  fide. 
But  a  certain  Sarrjaiitan,  ;is  he  jurneyed  came  where  he 
V  as ;  and  when  he  fnw  him,  he  had  coxpiiflion  on  him,  and 
went  to  him,  and  bound  up  his  wounds,  pouring  in  oi!  and 
wine,  and  fet  hina  on  his  ovxn  bes.ft,  anJ  brought  him  to  «a 
ir.n,  f>nd  took  care  of  him.  And  on  ih?  morrow,  when  he 
dep?jrierl,  he  took  out  two  pence,  and  gave  them  to  the  hofl, 
and  faid  unto  hirn,  Take  care  of  him  :  and  whsifcever  then 
fpendfcft  more,  when  I  coire  a^ain,  I  will  repay  ilee.  Which 
now  ot  thefe  three,  ihinkefl:  tlicu,  was  neighbor  unto  him 
ihjt  fell  aotong  tb*  thirrcs  ?  And  he  fiid,  He  that  Hiewed 
me4i|r  on  him.  Then  faid  Jefus  unto  him,  Go,  and  do  thou 
likewifs."  Luke  x.  30 — 37. 


'Notes  on  the  Parables,  193 

THIS  parable  of  the  man  among  thieves,  was 
ipoken  by  Chrift,  to  a  lawyer,  in  anfwer  to  the 
lawyer's  queftion,  who  aiked,  whom  he  (hould 
confider  to  be  his  neighbor.  And  the  anfwer  con- 
tained in  the  parable,  communicates  one  of  the 
moft  important  duties  which  was  ever  enjoined  on 
man. 

ift.  A  man  travelling  from  Jerufalem  to  Jericho 
falling  among  thieves,  being  llript,  wounded  and 
half  dead,  is  a  fuitable  object  of  charity,  which  is 
the  greateft  of  all  chrillian  virtues ;  and  without 
which,  the  profcflor  of  ever  fo  much  goodnefs  or 
rehgion,  is  nothing. 

2d.  A  pricfl  and  a  Levite  beholding  the  fuffer- 
ing  man,  and  treating  him  with  cold  neglecc,  is  a 
jull  reprefentation  of  the  pharifee  and  his  religion. 
This  prieft  would,  undoubtedly,  have  been  willing 
to  offer  a  facriiice  that  the  fuffering  man  might 
bring,  as  an  expiation  of  guilt,  it  being  fo,  that  he 
who  adminiflered  at  the  altar  Hv^d  of  the  things 
of  the  altar  ;  having  never  learned,  that  7nercy  was 
more  acceptable  to  God  than  facrifice.  And  being 
a  flranger  to  heaven-born  charity,  could  leave  a 
diilreiled  object  of  pity,  to  the  fcorching  heat  of 
day,  to  the  cold  damps  of  night,  to  nakedncfs,  and 
to  tlie  death-like  gnawings  of  hunger. 

3d.  One  poileiled  of  the  real  principles  of  true 
religion,  and  a  heart  taught  to  feel  for  the  diilrefs 
of  others,  whofe  foul  has  been  fired  Vv^ith  divine 
charity,  but  does  not  conform  to  all  the  cu/ioms  and 
traditions  of  the  elders^  wherewith  they  make  void 
the  law  of  God,  is  reprefented  by  a  defpifed  Samari- 
tan pouring  oil  and  wine  into  the  wounds  of  fuf- 
fering humanity.  O,  ye  vain  and  formal  profef- 
fors  of  chriftianity  !  open  your  ears  to  reproof. 
What  is  all  your  profeilion  of  filth,  of  zeal  ^or  re- 
R 


1 94  T^oies  on  the  Parables* 

ligion  and  the  fcrvice  of  God  ?  If  you  have  not 
charity,  you  arc  nothing.  He  who  had  compaf- 
lion  on  him  who  fell  aniong  thieves,  was  willing 
to  go  on  foot ^  that  the  wounded  might  ride  ;  neith- 
er did  he  afk  another  to  fliow  mercy  and  excufe 
himfelf,  but  having  it  in  his  power  to  relieve,  alli- 
ed none  to  afiift  in  the  expenle.  The  lawyer  hav- 
ing acknowledged  that  he  who  had  compaflion, 
was  neighbor  to  him  who  fell  among  thieves,  in 
preference  to  the  prieftand  the  Levite  ;  Chriil  ex- 
horts him  to  go,  and  do  likewife. 

it  is  not  unlikely  that  Chriil  fliould  have  a  ftill 
further  meaning  in  the  above  parable  ;  though, 
undoubtedly,  the  above  notes  contain  what  was 
intended  to  be  underilood  by  the  lawyer  at  that 
time,  as  the  exhortation  above  mentioned  feems  to 
evince.  The  chiifiian  -is  taught  to  believe,  that 
the  fcriptures  iefiify  of  Jefus,  and  therefore  may 
view  the  above  parable  as  follows  : 

I  ft.  By  a  man  travelling  from  Jerufalem  to  Je- 
richo, is  reprefented  the  travel  of  man  from  the 
garden  of  innocence  to  the  thorny  and  thiilly 
fields  of  Ho. 

2d  . jiy  his  falling  among  thieves^  being  ftiipt  nak- 
ed, being  woundsd  and  left  half  dead,  arc  repre- 
fented the  fpiritu'.il  enemies  of  man,  who  are 
worfe  than  thieves  ;  the  nakednefs  in  which  Adam 
f'jund  himfelf  after  tranfgrclnon  ;  the  wounds, 
received  from  tranfgrefiion  and  moral  death,  which 
are  the  wages  of  fm. 

3d.  By  the  priefl  and  the  Levite  neglecling  the 
wounded  man,  is  lliown  the  impotence  of  legal 
rightcoufnefs  to  recover  m.an  from  fm  and  con- 
demnation. 

4th.  By  the  Samaritan,  Chrift  is  intended,  (the 
jews  faid  he  was  a  Samaritan  and   had  a  devil) 


Notes  on  the  P arables ,  195 

who  was  as  much  derpifcd  by  the  phariibcs,  and 
jnore,  than  were  the  Samaritans. 

5th.  By  the  compafllon  fliown  to  the  fuiTcrin^ 
man  by  the  Samaritan,  is  repreientcd  the  coinpat- 
lion  oi:  Chrift  towards  the  iinful  race  of  Adam. 
Remember,  the  man  who  fell  amcwi^^'  thieves  was 
;fo  difabled  that  he  could  not  help  himfelf  :  that 
the  oil  and  wine  which  were  poured  into  Ills 
wounds,  were  not  bought  by  him  ;  that  he  rode 
the  Samaritan's  horfe,  having  none  of  his  own, 
therefore,  did  not  travel  on  foot  to  \.hc  inn  ;  and 
that  he  was  aftervv-ards  taken  care  of  at  the  cxpenfe 
of  him  who  had  companion  on  him.  All  thofc 
miferies  and  poverty  the  fmner  feels  in  liimfcif ; 
and  more  than  ail  the  good  t^fiiccs  of  the  Samari- 
tan, he  rejoices  to  acknowledge  from  Jefus. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

In  the  fubjecl  of  this  parable  we  are  prefented 
with  a  llriking  and  powerful  argument,  by  which 
is  clearly  fliown,  that  the  fpirit  of  the  lav\^  is  mercy 
and  life.  To  make  this  argument  plain  to  the 
reader,  the  following  particulars  will  be  noticed  : 

ift.    The  fubjecl  which  firfl  llarted  this  parable. 

2d.  Mow  the  parable  anfwers  the  queftion  to 
which  it  was  directed,  in  relation  to  the  firil  fub- 
jecl  ;  and, 

3d.   Obferve  fom.e  neceflary  concluiions. 

The  fubjecl:  which  firif  ftarted  this  parable  we 
learn  from  the  context,  verfe  25- — 28,  "  And  be- 
hold, a  certain  lawyer  flood  up,  and  tempted  him, 
faying,  mailer,  what  fliall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal 
life  ?  He  flud  unto  him,  what  is  written  in  the 
law  ?  how  readeft  thou  ?  And  he,  anfwerinp', 
faid,  thou  flialt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,   and   with   all   thy  foul,  and  with   all  thy 


ig6  Notes  on  the  Parables,  b 

ftrength,  and  with  all  thy  mind  ;   and  thy  neigh-^ 
bor  as  thyfelf.     And  he  faid  unto  him,  thou  haft 
anfvvered   right  :  this  do,  and  thou   Ihalt  live.'* 
Here  the  lav/  is  recited  in  its  true  fpirit  and  mean- 
ing, and  the  Saviour  faid,  this  do,  and  thou  fhalt 
live,     lo  this  agrees  the  words  of  the  beloved 
difciple,  fee  i  John  iii.    14.  "  We  know  that  we 
have  paficd  from  death  unto  life,  becaufe  we  love, 
the  brethren  :  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother  abid- 
eth  in  death."     But    here  is  room   in  which,  he- 
who  is  in  darknefs,  will  take  the  liberty  to  cavil, 
and  a&,  who  is  my  brother.     So  did  the  lawyer; 
Avho  tempted  Chrift.     See  verfe  29,  "  But  he  will- 
ing to  juftify  himfelf,  faid  unto  Jefus,  and  who  is, 
rny   neighbor  ?"     To  anfwer   this  queflion  Jefus 
ipake  the  parable  under  confideration,  which  may 
jiow  be  examined,  as  to  its  relation,  not  only  to 
the  queflion  to  which  it  immediately  applies,  but 
alfo  to  the  firft  and  major  queflion  in  the  general 
fubjecl:. 

I  ft.  Why  did  neither  the  prleft  nor  the  Levite-^ 
have  compaflion  on  the  diftrefted  man  ?  Anfwer,. 
becaufe  they  did  not  love  their  neighbor  as  them- 
felvcs.  1  hough  this  wounded  man,  it  appears, 
iiad  a  very  juft  claim  upon  them,  being  a  Jew  and^ 
from  Jerufalem  ;  one  of  their  brethren  as  apper- 
taining to  that  part  of  Ifrael  which  worflilpped  at 
Jerufalem,  and  of  courfe  paid  tithes  to  that  prieil- 
hood.  1  hey  could  make  no  reafonable  excufe  for 
their  negicd:,  on  account  of  this  man's  having' 
travelled  from  Jerufalem  to  fo  wicked  a  place  as 
Jericiio,  for,  ift.  They  were  travelling  the  fame 
road  thcmfclves  ;  and,  2d.  If  they  viewed  him  to 
have  been  a  very  wicked  Jew,  it  was  their  duty,^ 
agreeably  with  their  office,  to  have  made  atone- 
ment  for  his  fms,  befides  relieving  his  temporal. 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  197 

diftrefles.     But  for  the  want  of  love  all  duty  is 
ncQ^lected. 

2d.  Why  did  the  Samaritan  have  mercy  on  this 
diftreilod  Jew  ?  Not  becaufe  he  was  a  woriliiper 
in  the  mountain  of  Samaria  ;  not  becaufe  the 
Jews  and  the  Samaritans  were  in  the  habits  of 
friendfhip  and  good  neighborhood,  for  the  re- 
verfe  in  the  extreme,  was  the  cafe  ;  but  becaufe 
that  love  poifeffed  his  heart  which  ani'wers  to  the 
requirement  of  the  divine  law,  by  which  he  loved 
his  enemy  and  could  do  good  to  one  who  hated 
him.  Jefus  afks  the  lawyer  which  of  the  three 
he  thought  was  neighbor  to  him  who  fell  among 
thieves,  to  which  the  lawyer  replied,  "  he  that 
fhewed  mercy  on  him."  Jefus  then  concludes  the 
fubjecT:  faying,  "  Go  and  do  thou  likewife/'  By 
this  the  lawyer  was  informed  that  he  muft  confi- 
der  thofe  to  be  the  objects  of  his  love,  who  were 
as  great  enemies  to  him  as  the  Jews  were  to  the 
Samaritans ;  and  that  in  order  for  hii:n  to  inherit 
eternal  life,  he  muft  love  fucli  as  he  did  hirofelf, 
which  amounts  to  the  exact  requirement  of  the 
law. 

From  this  divine  lelTon  of  inftruclion  the  fol- 
lowing conclufions  may  be  drawn. 

111.  The  divine  law,  is  a  law  of  life,  and  this 
life  being  love,  which  is  the  nature  of  God,  is 
eternal. 

2d.  Jefus  Chrift,  as  the  miniftcr  of  eternal  life 
to  finful  man,  fulfils  the  lav/  and  makes  it  honor- 
able, adminiiterinor  wifdom  rifrhteoufnefs,  fancti- 
fication  and  redemption  to  thofe  who  are  his  in- 
veterate enemies,  ail  which  the  law  of  his  father 
requires. 

3d.  Whatever  prieftliood,  in  vv'liatever  age  of 
the  world,  fails  of  adminiftering  this  life  to  the 

R  2 


igS  Notes  on  the  Parables'.' 

finner,  comes  as  fliort  of  the  miniftration  of  tKc 
gofpel,  as  it  does  of  removing  the  diftrefles  of  fm 
and  death. 

4th  As  the  doctrine  which  Jefus  taught  by  this 
parable  was  perfectly  calculated  to  dcftroy  the 
enmity  which  unhappily  exifted  between  the  Jews 
and  Samaritans,  fo  it  is  equally  well  calculated  to  . 
deftroy  that  equally  unhappy  and  difgraceful  en- 
mity which  now  exifts  between  the  different  de- 
nominations of  the  chriftian  church. 

The  author  of  thefe  notes  and  illuftrations  en- 
tertains no  expectation  that  his  labors,  on  this  fub- 
]ect^  will  be  any  more  agreeable  or  pleafing  to- 
thofe,  in  the  prefent  day,  who  contribute,  with 
all  their  zeal,  to  the  fupport  of  thofe  divifions, 
than  thefe  arguments  of  .Jefus  were  to  the  lawyer 
to  whom  he  fpake,  or  to  the  priefts  and  Levites 
whom  he  reproved,  and  who  were  zealous  to  en- 
rage their  difciples  againfl  the  Samaritans. 

In  order  to  modify  this  parable,  fo  as  to  have  it- 
correfpond  with  that  religion  which  is  dictated  by 
the  wifdom  of  this  world,  it  would  be  neceffary 
to  introduce  a  number  of  important  interpola- 
tions, fuch  as  the  following. 

ift.  A  certain  learned  divine,  being  a  doctor  of 
the  law,  as  he  journied  that  way,  came  within  call 
of  the  half  dead,  wounded  man-,  and  flood  ftill  y 
and  lifting  up  his  voice  like  a  trumpet,  told  him 
that  he  felt  great  compaflion  for  him,  that  he  could 
not  bear  to  leave  him  in  that  pitiful  and  forlorn 
condition  to  perifh.  He  goes  on  and  propofes  that 
if  he  will  rife  from  the  ground  where  he  lies  wal- 
lowing in  his  blood,  and  itand  upright  as  a  man 
ought  to  (bnd,  and  walk  to  him  without  (tumbling 
or  fainting,  he  vv^lll  grant  him  all  needed  afiiftance. 
The  poor  wretch  now  exerts  the  little  itrength, 


UoUs  on  the  Parables,  199 

which  remains  in  his  broken  limbs,  but  is  imme- 
diately  told  by  this  merciful  friend^  that  every  ftrug. 
gle  he  makes  renders  his  ftate  ftill  worfe  ! 

2d.  The  reverend  father  draws  ftill  nigher,  with 
a  view  to  examine,  more  clofely,  the  milerable  ob- 
jecb  before  him.  On  coming  near  he  afks  him 
concerning  his  creed.  Do  you  believe  that  it 
would  be  perfectly  juft  and  right  for  me  to  go  off 
and  leave  you  here  to  die  ?  Do  you  feel  perfect- 
ly willing  to  lie  here  while  life  remains?  Should 
you  love  me  as  well  if  I  ftiould  break  all  your 
bones  which  the  thieves  have  not  broken,  and 
leave  you  to  perifli^  as  you  fhould  if  I  fhould  bind 
up  your  wounds  and  reftore  you  to  foundnefs  ? 
And  tells  him  that  he  muft  anfwer  all  thefe  quef- 
tions  in  the  affirmative,  or  there  is  no  mercy  for 
him.     The  poor  dying  man  looks  confufed  ! 

3d.  This  faithful  minifter  of  comfort  proceeds  to 
lay  before  this  objecl  of  pity  f©me  more  important 
fubjeds  ;  and  informs  him  that  there  are  a  great 
multitude  of  perfons  in  the  fame  lituation  with 
himfelf,  and  that  it  is  neceffary  for  him  to  believe, 
that  he  is  determined  to  let  the  greateft  part  of 
them  die  in  that  condition,  which,  if  he  does  not 
believe,  he  cannot  be  faved  himfelf  !  The  wretch 
forlorn  looks  wild  with  amazement  ! 

4th.  Faithful  to  his  profeffion,  this  lover  of  un- 
fortunate fufFercrs,  goes  on  with  great  zeal  to  in- 
form this  perifhing  fufFerer,  that  in  order  that  a 
few  of  the  many  who  are  in  his  fituation  fhould 
be  relieved  and  enjoy  his  favor,  it  is  neceffary  that 
the  greateft  part  of  them  fhould  perifh  in  the  moft 
awful  manner  ;  and  that  as  a  condition  of  his  de- 
liverance, he  muft  poiTefs  true  benevolence,  and 
be  willing  to  be  one  of  the  many  who  are  not  de- 
livered, fo  that  his  dreadful  fufferings  may  redound 


2 DO  Notes  on  the  T arables, 

to  the  glory  of  the  deliverer  of  the  few,  and  to 
their  greater  happinefs !  The  fufferer  begins  to 
draw  a  comparifon  between  this  profeffed  friend^ 
and  the  thieves  who  had  wounded  and  robbed 
him,  and  is  rather  puzzled  to  find  an  important 
difference ! 

5th.  With  a  view  to  leave  nothing  undone 
which  can  be  done  to  ilive  this  mifcrablc  object  of 
charity,  this  minifler  of  truth  is  determined  to 
clear  his  garments  of  his  blood,  which  to  do,  he 
proceeds  with  an  afFedionate  exhortation  ;  in 
which  he  fets  forth  the  dangerous  fituation  which 
all  are  in,  who,  like  him,  have  fallen  among  thieves. 
He  fets  forth,  in  the  mofl  glowing  coiors,  the 
dreadful  torments  to  which  he  is  expofed,  unlefs 
he  complies  with  the  conditions  which  have  l^een 
propofed  ;  which  conditions,  he  urges,  are  perfect- 
ly reafonable,  and  all  within  his  power,  and  if  he 
perlilics,  it  is  his  own  fault  entirely.  And  he  fur- 
ther fays,  that  all  who  do  perifh,  might  be  faved 
if  they  would,  that  it  is  their  own  wills  alone 
which  prevents  !  This  exhortation  produces  either 
delirium  or  defpair ! 

The  difference  between  the  conduct  of  this  or- 
thodox minifler,  and  the  conduct  of  the  goodly 
Samaritan  in  the  parable,  difcovers  the  difference 
between  the  wifdoni  of  this  world,  and  the  wif- 
dom  of  God  ;  between  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
wicked,  which  are  cruelty,  and  the  niercy  of  the 
Lord,  which  endureth  forever. 

As  has  been  fuggelled,  the  inftruction,  commu- 
nicated in  this  parable,  is  calculated,  if  wifely  im- 
proved, to  deftroy  the  hurtful  enmity,  now  exifi:- 
ing  between  the  different  denoniinations  of  the 
chriflian  church,  as  it  was  to  deitroy  tliat  which 
exifted   between    the  Jews   and  the   Samaritans. 


\ 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  201 

This  would  be  making  a  very  profitable  ufe  of  the 
parable  ;  and  it  muft  be  confidered  a  lamentable 
dereliclion  of  the  fpirit  and  principles  of  the  gofpel 
of  Chrift,  in  the  clergy  of  the  prefent  day,  that 
they  drive  to  alienate  their  followers  from  one 
another  of  different  denominations. 

Without  applying  this  general  fubjecl  to  the  ufe 
for  which  it  was  evidently  intended,  in  a  primary 
fenfe,  the  parable  contains  the  moft  perfect  exam- 
ple of  true  charity,  and  is  one  of  the  moft  beau- 
tiful pictures  of  moral  virtue  that  can  be  found  in 
all  the  writings  of  the  moralifts. 

This  Jew  was  an  enemy  to  the  Samaritan  by 
education.  When  the  Samaritan  finds  him  in  his 
deplorable  mifery,  he  does  not  ftop  to  reproach 
him  of  any  unworthinefs,  does  not  enquire  the 
bufinefs  which  brought  him  there,  nor  the  means 
by  which  he  was  difablcd  from  helping  himfelf, 
but  immediately  proceeds  tO'  ads  of  compafTion. 
nnd  mercy,  binds  up  his  wounds,  pouring  in  oil 
and  wine  ;  and  makes  provifion  for  the  future,  at 
his  own  expence. 


PARABLE  XXX. 

**  I  fay  unto  you»  though  he  will  not  rife  and  give  him,  becaiife 
he  ii  his  friend  ;  yet,  becaiife  of  his  importunUy.  he  will  rife 
and  give  him  as  many  as  he  needeth."  Luke  xi.  8. 

WE  find  a  fimilar  pafTige  to  the  above  in  chap, 
xviii.  ver.  5.  *'  i"et,.  Becaufe  this  woman  troubleth 
me,  I  will  avenge  her,  leil  by  her  continual  com- 
ing fhc  weary  me.*'  Ihefe  pafl'agcs  were  both  in- 
troduced for  the  fame  purpofe,  viz.  to  fhow  the 
necellity  of  ppayer,  in  which  we  ought  to  be  exr 


202  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

ercifed  without  fainting,  or  doubting.  The  read- 
er will  turn  to  thofe  fcriptures,  and  read  them  with 
their  connexions,  and,  undoubtedly,  evidence  may 
appear  in  lupport  of  the  followirjg  notes  : 

ift.  Prayer  is  the  channel  through  which  God 
communicates  fpiritual  blellings  to  the  foul  ;  as  it 
is  neceiFary  for  us  ro  feel  our  wants,  in  order  to 
enjoy  thofe  bleilings  which  are  calculated  to  re- 
move them. 

2d.  1  hat  when  we  pray,  we  ought  to  entertain 
the  ftrongeil  conviclion  that  the  favors  needed 
will  be  granted  ;  for,  if  a  man  who  was  comforta- 
bly in  bed  with  his  children,  would  not  arife  and 
w^ait  on  his  neighbor,  merely  becaufe  he  Vv'as  his 
friend,  would,  becaufe  oi importunity;  certainly,  our 
heavenly  Father,  who  is  the  author  of  all  our  ra- 
tional wants,  and  the  giver  of  the  fpirit  of  prayer, 
will  grant  his  divine  bleflings  to  his  wanting,  pray- 
ing children.  And  if  a  judge,  who  feared  not  God 
nor  regarded  man,  would  avenge  a  widow  of  her 
adverlaries,  becaufe  of  her  continual  requefts,  how 
much  more  may  it  be  expected  that  God  will 
avenge  his  chofen^  whom  he  hath  called  by  the 
word  of  his  grace,  for  the  great  purpofe  of  bear- 
ing witnefs  to  the  world  of  the  things  of  his  king- 
dom. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  methods  ufed,  by  our  Saviour,  to  commu- 
nicate the  doctrine  of  truth,  appear  to  be  defigned 
to  give  the  mod  favorable  ideas  of  the  divine  char- 
acter ;  nor  does  it  feem,  by  the  fimilitudes  which 
he  ufed,  that  he  was  apprehenfive  his  hearers  might 
entertains  too  high  an  opinion  of  the  gooclnefs  of 
God.  But  on  the  contrary,  he  chofe  out  of  the 
wide  field  of  the  human  paflions,  with  which  he 
was  perfecT:ly  acquainted,  thofe  which  breathe  the 


\ 


NeUs  on  the  P arables »  203 

greateft  tender nefs,  and  are  the  moft  aclive  in  ads 
of  mercy,  as  fiiTiilitudes  by  which  to  commend  the 
goodnefs  of  God  to  mankind  ;  taking  care  always, 
to  arrange  his  difcourfe  lb  as  to  indicate  that  the 
tendereft  of  human  affeclions  were  every  way  in- 
ferior to  the  divine  goodnefs. 

In  connexion  with  our  parable,  Jefus  appealed 
to  the  tender  affeclions  of  thofe  who  were  fathers, 
for  an  illuftration  of  his  doctrine.  Ihe  divine 
truth  of  which  he  was  endeavoring  to  make  them 
acquainted,  was,  that  our  heavenly  father  would 
not  fail  to  beftov/  his  favors  on  thofe  who  fhould 
call  upon  him.  See  the  fubje61:  continued  from 
the  8ih  to  the  13th  verfe,  inclufive,  "  And  I  fay 
unto  you,  afk,  and  it  flrall  be  given  you  ;  feek,  and 
ye  (hall  fmci  ;  knock,  and  it  ihall  be  opened  unto 
you.  For  every  one  that  aiketh,  receiveth  ;  and 
he  that  f::eke!:h,  fmdsth  ;  and  to  him  that  knock- 
eth,  ir  Tnall  be  opened.  If  a  Son  fliall  afk  bread  of 
any  of  you  that  is  a  father,  will  he  give  him  a 
Hone  ?  or,  if  he  aik  a  f fli,  Vvill  he  for  a  fifh  give 
him  a  fcrpent  ?  Or,  if  he  fliall  aik  an  cg^^  will  he 
OiTcr  him  a  fcorpion  ?  If  ye  then  being  evil,  know 
Iiow  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how 
much  more  fliall  your  heavenly  father  give  the  ho- 
ly (pirit  to  them  that  aflv  liim  ?"  Tliis  important 
addrefs  to  the  fatherly  affeclions,  places  the  doc- 
trine of  Jefus  at  an  infinite  elevation  above  that 
unmerciful  doctrine  which  difpoiTefles  the  parent 
of  all  liis  better  feelings  towards  his  oiTspring,  and 
gives  him  a  heart  to  rejoice  in  theendlefb  torment 
of  a  once  beloved  fon  !  But  the  particular  caft  of 
the  parable  under  conlideration,  varies  very  much 
from  the  above  queries  in  regard  to  the  parental 
love,  for  in  the  parable,  ^vtn  friendfbip  is  excluded, 
and  the  conclufion  then  is,  that  rather  than  to  be 


204  ^otes  on  the  Parables.  I 

importuned  inceflantly,  he  would  rife  and  give  as 
much  as  was  needed.  With  this  argument  of  the  ^ 
Saviour,  let  us  compare  the  current  opinion  that  | 
our  heavenly  father  will  remain  forever  deaf  to 
the  cries  of  fouls  in  never  ending  anguifli.  It 
feems  that  the  Saviour  defigned  to  difpofe  his  fub- 
je6l  fo  as  to  compare  the  leaji  with  X.\iQ  greateji*  He 
does  not  fuppofe,  therefore,  any  relation  by  blood, 
fuch  as  father,  brother,  or  fon  ;  nor  does  he  allow 
even  friendfhip  to  have  any  thing  to  do  in  grant- 
ing the  afliilance  wanted,  but  very  juftly  fuppofes 
that  importunity  alone  would  prevail.  On  the  other 
hand,  ftands  exhibited  the  divine  relation  in  which 
our  heavenly  father  conflituted  man  to  himfelf,  he 
is  acknowledged  to  be,  not  only  a  friend,  but  a 
father,  and  the  petitioners  ftand  in  the  character 
of  fons.  The  juft  conclulion  is,  therefore,  if  fuc- 
cefs  attended  importunity  in  the  firft  inftance,  no 
doubt  could  be  r^afonably  entertained  in   the  laft. 

As  has  been  noticed,  the  Saviour  in  continuing 
this  argument,  called  for  this  divine  relation,  and 
the  confidence  which  might  be  built  upon  it,  which 
he  illuftrated  by  the  fatherly  affections  of  his  hear- 
ers. 

Such  arguments  muft  be  acknowledged  to  be  di- 
vinely beautiful,  if  the  fad  eftabliihed  by  them  be 
true  ;  but  if  not  true,  why  Ihould  the  Saviour  ufe 
arguments  to  eftablifh  it  ? 

One  particular  in  the  current  doctrine  of  th« 
prefent  day  is,  that  our  heavenly  father,  from  all 
eternity,  predeftinated  millions  of  his  rational  ofF- 
fpring  to  endure  endlefs  mifery  and  dcfpair.  Now 
compare  this  opinion,  in  which  our  learned  dodtors 
are  eftabliihed,  with  the  arguments  of  the  Saviour 
above  quoted.  "  I  fay  unto  you,  afk,  and  it  fhall 
be  given  unto  you  \  feek,  and  ye  fhall  find  \  knock, 


Notes  en  the  Parables,  205 

and  it  fliall  be  opened  unto  yen."  Note.  *•  I  f^iy 
unto  you."  That  is,  I  am  authorifed,  and  it  is 
my  bufinefs,  purfuant  to  authority  vcflcd  in  me, 
to  tell  you  for  certainty,  that  if  you  afl^,  you  fliall 
receive.  Let  us  fuppofe,  what  we  have  no  fcrip- 
ture  to  prove,  that  Jefus  taught,  tliat  his  Either 
had  predeilinated  the  greateft  part  of  mankind  to 
endure  endlefs  mifery ;  and  tJie'n  fuppofe  that  one 
of  his  difciples  fhould  have  afked  him  the  follow- 
ing queftion.  Rabbi,  thou  hafl  been  very  partic- 
^  ular  in  alTuring  us  that  the  greatefl:  part  of  man- 
kind are  already  doomed  to  fufTer  erernnlly,  and 
thou  wilt  not  allow  that  any  man  can  be  thy  difci- 
ple  unlefs  he  believe  \\\\%  fundamental  article  of  jaith  ; 
fuppofe  then  that  the  greateft  part  of  mankind,  or 
even  all  of  them,  Ihould  aik,  feek,  and  knock, 
would  the  greateft  part,  or  even  all,  receive  mercy, 
iind  favor  and  be  admitted  r  How  could  this  quef- 
tion receive  a  fair,  unevafive  anfwer,  confiftently 
^th  the  above  text,  and  with  the  foregoing  fup- 
pofitions  ? 

It  may   be  proper  to  notice  another  very  com- 

I    mon  method  made  ufe  of  to  exclude  mankind,  in 

'    general,  from   the  divine  £ivor,  v/hich  is  by  fup- 

pofmg  that  but  a  fmall  part  of  luankind  will  ever 

I    afk,  feek,  or  knock,  and  that  the  greater  part  will 

,    fail,  finally,  of  obtaining  the  divine  favor,  for  this 

their  needlefs   neglecl.     This   argument   muft  be 

confidered  extremely  defedive  in  the  following 

particulars. 

I  ft.  I'he  propofition,  on  wlilch  this  argument 
I  is  built,  has  no  foundation  but  in  mere  conjec- 
I    ture  ;  there  being    no  fcripture  autiiority  for  its 

fupport. 
i        2d.  The   argument  fuppofes   that  our  heavenly 
%  father  feels  fo  little  intereil  in  our  coming  to  hitn, 
S 


2o6  ]>iotes  on  the  Parables, 

in  our  Teckiiig  after  him,  kc.  that  it  is  a  matter 
for  which  he  will  not  provide  means,  adequate  to 
its  accompliflimcRt. 

That  divine  revelation  furniflies  different  au- 
tliority,  may  be  feen  by  the  following  :  See  Jere- 
niiah  xxix.  ic — 14.  "  For  thus  faith  the  Lord, 
that  after  fevcnty  years  be  accompliilied  at  Baby- 
lon I  will  vifit  you,  and  perform  my  good  word 
towards  you,  in  cauung  you  to  return  to  this  place. 
For  1  knovv'  the  thoughts  that  I  think  towards  you, 
faith  the  Lord,  thoughts  of  peace  and  not  of  evil, 
to  give  you  an  expected  end.  Then  {liall  ye  call 
upon  me.  and  ye  ihall  go  and  pray  unto  m.e,  and 
I  will  hearken  unto  you.  And  ye  fliall  feek  me, 
and  find  me,  when  ye  fhall  fearch  for  me  with  all 
your  heart.  And  I  will  be  found  of  you,  faith  the 
Lord  ;  and  I  will  turn  away  your  captivity,  and  I 
will  gather  you  from  all  the  nations,  and  from  all 
the  places  whither  1  have  driven  you,  faith  the 
Lord ;  and  I  will  bring  you  again  into  the  place, 
whence  I  caufed  you  to  be  carried  away  captive.*' 
See  chap.  xxiv.  6,  7.  "  For  1  will  fet  mine  eyes 
upon  them  for  good,  and  I  will  bring  them  agaia 
to  this  land  :  and  I  will  build  them  and  not  pull 
them  down  :  and  1  will  plant  them,  and  not 
pluck  them  up^  And  1  will  give  them  an  heart 
to  know  me,  that  I  am  the  Lord  ;  and  they 
Ihall  be  my  people  and  I  will  be  their  God:  for 
they  fhall  return  unto  me  with  their  whole  heart." 
See  Acls  xv.  16,  17,  18.  "  After  this  1  will  re- 
turn,  and  will  build  again  the  tabernacle  of  David, 
w^hich  is  fallen  down  ;  and  I  will  build  again  the 
ruins  thereof,  and  I  will  fet  it  up  ;  that  the  refi- 
due  of  men  might  feek  after  the  Lord,  and  all 
the  gentiles  upon  whom  my  name  is  called,  faith 
the  Lord,  who  doeth  all  thefe  things.  Known  un- 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  207 

to  Gocl  are  all  his  works  from  the  beginning  of  t lie 
world."  In  the  lirll  pali'age  quoted  from  Jeremiah, 
God  promifes  what  the  people  fliall  do,  as  well  as 
what  he  himfelf  will  do^  and  in  ihe  iccond  paf- 
fagc,  God  fiys  he  will  give  tliem  an  Iiearr  to  know 
^  him  ;  fo  that  the  whole  depends  on  iiim  who 
i  makes  the  promife,and  who  has  the  pouxr  to  pcr- 
*  form  it.  In  Ihort,  it  is  hard  to  account  for  the 
propriety  of  a  fentiment  which  places  the  whole 
fchcme  of  the  gofpel  at  the  difpofal  of  that  very 
c. unity  of  the  linner's  heart,  which  it  was  defign- 
td,  by.  our  merciful  father  in  heaven,  to  overcome 
aird  deilroy.  If  it  be  granted  that  our  father  in 
heaven  has  manifefted  his  will,  in  the  lalvation  of 
ail  men,  and  their  comino^unto  tlie  knowled:;e  of 
the  truth,  as  St  Paul  tcililies  to  liiiiOthy*,  with 
wdiat  propriety  can  we  fuppofe  that  this  will  of 
God,  fupported  with  all  the  means  of  grace  in  the 
hands  ot  a  mediator,  to  whom  is  committed  all 
power  in  heaven  and  in  eirth,  will  finally  be  fruf- 
t rated  by  the  will  of  wicked  men  ?  This  would 
undoubtedly  be  the  cafe,  if  the  old  ferpent  called 
the  devil,  had  the  power  to  have  it  io !  On  no 
I  other  ground  can  it  be  expected.  .  To-ihov/  this 
\  matter  in  its  natural  light,  let  us  afli  whether  any 
of  the  human  race  would  be  flived  from  fm  and 
death,  if  this  old  ferpent  had  the  pov/er  to  pre- 
vent it  ?  Anfwer,  no.t^  On  the  other  hand,  will 
any  of  the  human  race  remain  eternally  in  a  ftate 
of  fin  and  death,  if  the  bleued  mediator  have  povv^- 
er  to  prevent  it  ?  AT^fwer  no  ;  for^rriv  can  there 
be  an  agreement  between  the  feed  of  the  woman 
and  the  ferpent  ? 

The  prophet  Zephaniah  lias  a  moft  beautiful  paf- 
fage,  wliich  fhov/s  the  end  of  the  miniflration  of 


2o8  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

iii.  8,  9.  "  Therefore  wait  ye  upon  me,  faith  the 
the  Lord,  until  the  day  that  I  rife  up  to  the  prey; 
for  my  determination  is  to  gather  the  nations, 
tliat  I  may  aifemble  the  kingdoms,  to  pour  upon 
tlicm  mine  indignation,  even  all  my  fierce  anger  ; 
for  all  the  earth  fhall  be  devoured  with  the 
fire  of  my  jealoufy.  For  then  will  1  turn  to  the 
people  a  pure  language,  that  they  may  all  call  upon 
the  name  of  the   Lord,  to  ferve  him  with   one 


confent.'* 


PARz\BLE  XXXL 

^*  He  rpake  ?.IR)  this  parable:  A  certain  man  hacj  a  fig  trefr 
planted  in  Lis  vineyard,  and  he  came  and  fcught  fruit  there- 
on, and  found  none.  Then  Gid  he  unto  the  drefler  of  his- 
vineyard,  Jjchold,  ihtfi  three  years  I  come  fetking  fruit  en. 
this  fig-trer,  and  find  noce  :  cut  it  down,  why  cumbertth  ic 
t'se  ground  ?  And  he  anf^eiirg  faid  unto  him,  Lord,  let 
it  aiore  this  year  sif;?,  til!  I  fhall  dig  about  it,  and  c'ung  it  :: 
and  If  it  beir  fruit,  v.eil  :  and  If  not,  then  after  that  ihca  , 
flialt  c'7^  It  do*'n  "  LcKE  xiii.  6   7,  8,  9. 

THIS  parable  was  fpoken  in  reply  to  thofc: 
vho  told  Jefus  of  the  Galileans  whofe  blood  Pilate^ 
held  mingled  with  their  facrifices.  Jefus  taking  in- 
to conficieration,  alfo,  the  eighteen  on  whom  the^ 
lower  of  Siloam  fell,  allied  them  if  they  thought 
thefe  were  finners  above  all  the  Galileans  and  the- 
dwellers  in  Jerufliicm  ;  which  queftion  he  anfweis- 
himfelf,  faying,  "  I  fay  unto  you,  nay,  but  except 
ye  repent^  ye  Tiiall  all  likewife  pcrifli.''  Then  he  in- 
troduces the  above  parable,  by  which,  he  points  at 
the  deftruclion  of  Jerufalem  and  the  Jews. 

liL  -By  a  fig  tree,  is  meant  the  houfe  of  Ifrael, 
which  the  Lord  planted  in  the  goodly  land  of 
promife.  ' 


l^otes  on  the  Par  able  u  ^o^ 

sd.  The  barrenncfs  of  the  houfc  of  Ifrael,  in 
refped  to  the  fruits  of  righteoulhefs,  is  rigniiled 
by  the  fruitleffnefs  of  the  fig-tree. 
,  3d.  That,  judging  the  Jews  only  by  their  barren- 
ncfs, it  was  then  time  they  were  cut  down  or  de- 
flroyed,  as  cumberers  of  the  holy  land  :  But  Chrifl:, 
who  was  the  dreffer  of  the  vineyard,  feems  to  re- 
prefent  a  fliort  time  longer,  in  vvhich  he  fliould 
grant  them  great  advantages,  which,  after  they  had 
neglected,  they  would  be  deftroyed. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

The  houfe  of  Ifrael,  as  reprefented  by  this  un- 
fruitful  fig-tree,  is  a  jufl  reprefentation  of  all  thofe 
national  churches  who  puncltually  attend  to  the 
outward  forms  of  religion,  and  neglect  to  bring 
forth  the  fruits  of  tlie  gofpel.  Nor  need  we  con- 
fine  this  application  to  national  churches,  as  it  is 
very  evident  that  many  churches  in  Chriftendom 
who  are  not  of  that  eilabliihment,  have,  and  pride 
themfelves  in  having,  a  fimilarity  of  character  with 
thofe  who  have.  Another  ftriking  figure  by  which 
fuch  churches  are  reprefented,  we  find  in  St.  Mat. 
xxi.  18,  19.  "  Now,  in  the  morning,  as  he  return- 
ed into  the  city  he  hungered.  And  when  he  faw 
a  fig-tree  in  the  way,  he  came  to  it,  and  found  no- 
thing thereon  but  leaves  only,  and  faid  unto  it, 
let  no  fruit  grow  on  thee  hence  forward  forever. 
And  prefently  the  fig-tree  withered  away."  This 
fig-tree  refembled  the  then  prefent  Jewifli  church  as 
well  as  all  churches  of  a  fimilar  character.  This 
tree  is  not  reprefented  to  have  been  wanting  in 
fize,  in  age,  in  height  or  verdure,  but  in  fruit  only. 
All  this  might  be  faid  of  thofe  churches  of  which 
we  fpeak.  Jhey  frequently  appear  in  a  fiourifliing 
condition,  they  may  grow  to  be  numerous  and 
S  2 


f^  I  o  Kota  071  the  ParaSIer^ 

to  adorn  themfelves  with  a  great  many  wor!'cfiy 
excellencies,  honors  and  dignities,  all  of  which 
ferve  to  beautify  them,  not  in  the  ilght  of  God, 
but  in  the  fight  of  men,  who  have  the  vanity  to 
pride  theiiifelves  in  fuch  appearances.  When  reli- 
gion becomes  the  creature  of  itate  government, and 
is  (liapcd  according  to  the  pattern  of  tyrannical 
and  oppreflive  power,  it  is  always  the  object  of  that 
order  of  clergy  who  look  to  the  public  ruler  for' 
temporal  funport,  to  bend  every  thing,  as  much 
as  poflible,  to  pleafc  the  vain,  oftentatious  and  even 
ambitious  views  of  fuch  a  patron.  In  fuch  a  cafe, 
what  may  reafonably  be  expected,  but  to  have  the 
characler  of  the  Saviour  exhibited  and  iliuftrated 
by  that  of  the  opprelTor,  the  tyrant,  the  unmerci- 
ful ruler  ? 

From  the  fatal  moment  the  civil  power  of  Rom.c 
directed  its  difiempered  policy  to  water  the  chrif- 
tian  church,  it  is  true  it  fiourlflied  greatly  ;  its 
branches  became  numerous  and  extenfive  ;  it 
clothed  itfelf  with  the  leafy  honors  "which  had  adorn- 
ed the  pagan  worfhip,  but  it  decreafed  in  refped: 
to  the  genuine  fruits  of  the  gofpcl,  in  the  fame  ra- 
tio, until  it  became  as  deflitute  of  fruit  as  the  fig- 
tree  Vvas  which  we  have  taken  for  an  emblem. 
In  churches  not  conflituted  by  civil  authority,  the 
fpirit  of  dominion  and  oppreffion  clothes  itfelfr 
with  an  eccleiiaRical  government,  and  gratifies  thc- 
prlde  and  vanity  of  its  votaries  with  the  privileges- 
of  impofrng  creeds,  forms  of  worfliip,  and  modes 
of  difcipline  on  the  ignorance  and  fuperilition  of 
ilupid  minds.  If  fuch  a  church  fucceed,  in  its  in- 
fluence, to  control  colleges  and  other  feminaries 
of  learning,  as  is  the  cafe  in  this  country,  the  cler- 
gy, in  poifellion  of  fuch  means,  will  not  fail  to  ufc 
them  to  extend  ihdv  Jig-tree,  and  to  adorn  it  with. 


Tsofes  on  the  Parables.  1 1 1 

ftjowy  leaves^  and  pride  themfelves  in  its  verdure. 
Bui:  as  to  the  fruits  of  the  gofpel,  we  are  not  to 
find  them  ox\fuch  trees.  As  the  fpirit  of  dominion, 
tyranny  and  ambition  was  never  fatisficd,  fo  we 
find  every  order  of  clergy,  throughout  the  world, 
who  partake  of  this  fpirit,  ever  flriving  to  the  ut- 
moH  ftretch  of  their  influence,  to  marry  their  dar- 
ling church  to  the  government  of  ftate,  and  to 
found  it  on  this  rock^  againft  which,  they  truft,  the 
gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail.  If  difappointed  in 
this  favorite  object,  then  we  hear  the  cry  of  the 
clergy  againft  the  rulers,  whom  they  reprefent  as 
beino:  deftitute  of  all  reliolon  themfelves,  and  as 
being  difpofed  to  prollratc  its  beautiful  fabric,  and 
to  deprive  it  of  its  blefled  influence  in  the  world. 
All  fuch  churches  muft  meet  the  fate  of  the  fig- 
tree  ;  they  muft  witner  av/ay,  they  muft  lofe  their 
verdure,  their  deciduous  leaves  will  fall,  and  their 
eandlefticks  muft  be  removed. 

It  would  undoubtedly  be  an  unjuftifiable  omif- 
fion  not  to  apply  this  fubjecl  to  individuals  ;  for, 
in  general,  admonitions  which  are  proper  for  na- 
tions, churches,  or  other  communities,  may  be 
profitably  applied  to  individuals.  It  is  eafilyfeen, 
that  if  no  individual  v/as  difpofed  to  adorn  himfelf 
with  thofe  outfide  appearances  of  religion  and  piety, 
to  the  neglecb  of  the  real  fruits  of  the  fpirit,  there 
could  be  found  no  large  bodies  of  people,  fuch  as 
aflbciations  and  churches  of  this  caft.  Let  each 
foul,  then,  look  at  home,  exam.ine  with  caution, 
whether  his  religion  be  all  outfide  fliovy,  open  pro- 
fefiion,  fig-leaves  righteoufnefs,  without  the  fruits 
of  the  fj^irit,  which  are  love,  joy,  peace,  long-fuffer- 
ing,  gentlencfs,  goodnefs,  faith,  meeknefs,  aiid  tem- 
perance. If  in  thefe  fruits  Vv^e  abound,  then  may 
we  fay  with  propriety,  "  Let  my  beloved  come  into 
his  garden,  and  eat  his  pleafant  fruit,'* 


1 1 2  Nota  on  the  P arables 

PARA.BLE  XXX II. 

*'  For  which  of  you,  iotending  to  build  a  tower,  fitteih  not 
down  fir^  and  countclh  the  coft,  whether  he  h^ve  fufficier.i 
to  finiih  it  ?  left  haply  after  he  hath  laid  the  fcund.Jtion,  and 
is  not  able  to  fini(h  it,  ail  that  behold  it  begin  to  niock  him, 
faying,  This  man  began  to  build,  and  was  not  able  to  fin- 
ifli.  Of  what  king,  going  to  make  war  ag^iinft  another 
king,  fitteih  not  down  firft,  and  confulteth,  whether  he  be 
able,  with  ten  thouf«nd,  to  rreet  him  that  conjcth  againft 
bira  with  twenty  thonfand  ?  or  eife,  while  the  other  is  yet  a 
great  way  cff,  he  feadeih  an  aoibaiTige,  and  defireth  condi- 
tions of  peace."  Luke  xiv,  28  —  32. 

IN  this  parable,  or  parables,  Chrifl  taught 
thofe  who  pretended  to  be  his  dlfciples,  the  indif- 
penfabie  prerequiiirions  in  their  dilcipiefhip.  To 
be  a  diiciple  of  Chriit,  a  man  niufl  do  as  nearly  as 
pofiible  as  Chrill  did,  make  rational  calculations 
like  him  whom  he  calls  his  rnaftcr,  and  endeavor 
to  walk  as  he  walked.  Therefore,  to  give  a  right 
fenfe  of  the  above  parables,  I  firfl  apply  them  to 
Chrift,  and  then  to  the  character  of  a  difciple. 

Chrift  is  reprefented  as  follows : 

I  ft.  By  a  man  who  undertook  to  build  a  tower. 
By  a  tower,  I  underftand  that  building  of  which 
Chrift  himfelf  is  the  chief  corner  ftone,  a  building 
not  made  with  hands,  but  eternal  in  the  heavens  ; 
in  which  building,  mankind,  when  purified  from 
all  fin,  will  be  as  lively  ftones. 

2d.  By  firft  fitting  down  and  counting  the  coft, 
to  fee  if  he  had  fulEcient  to  finiih,  I  underftand, 
that  Chrift  counted  the  great  coft  of  the  work 
which  he  undertook  in  the  falvation  of  a  world, 
and  though  it  was  immcnfe,  knew  he  was  able  to 
accompiiih  it. 


l^oies  on  the  Parables.  2 1 3 

3d.  That,  having  taken  thofe  precautions,  he 
will  not  at  iaft  be  mocked  for  undertaking  more 
than  he^as  able  to  accomplilh. 

4th.  The  Saviour  is  reprefented  by  a  king  going 
to  make  war  with  another  king,  whom  1  underftand 
to  be  X.\\z  father  oUia,  or  the  king  of  the  bottcmkfs  pit. 

5th.  i  he  Saviour,  or  Prince  of  Peace,  confuhcth 
whether  he  be  able  to  meet  his  foe ;  and  though 
he  had  not  the  numbers  in  his  fervice  which  his^ 
adveriary  commanded,  he  difcovered,  by  divine 
wifdom,  one  only  method  of  victory  ;  v/hich  was 
by  laying  dov/n  his  life,  offering  it  in  the  high 
places  of  the  field,  he  effefled  the  death  of  his  ad- 
verfary,  and  having  power  to  take  his  life  again,, 
v/hich  his  enemy  had  not,  his  vi(!n:ory  would  be 
worthy  of  the  higheil  glory  and  honor,  and  eler- 
nally  complete/ 

6th.  Under  the  confideration  of  thef^  circum- 
fiances,  we  are  not  to  fuppofe  that  our  glorious 
Redeemer  will  ever  fue  for  conditions  of  capitula- 
tion with  the  father  of  lies,  nor  aik  for  an  armif- 
tice  until  the  man  of  fm  is  deftroyed  by  the  breath 
of  divine  truth,  and  confumed  by  the  brightnel* 
of  the  coming  of  him,  who  cometh  from  Edoni, 
with  dyed  f^arments  from  Bozj  ah  ;  who  is  glori- 
ous  in  his  apparel,  travelling  m  the  greatnels  ot  his 
itrength  ;  who  fpeaketh  in  righteoufncfs,  and  is 
mighty  to  fixve. 

Secondly,  In  applying  the  parables  to  fliow  the 
requifitions  in  the  characler  of  a  difciple  or  Chrift, 
1  obferve, 

ift.  As  ChriD:  had  before  told  the  people,  that 
unlefs  a  man  fliould  take  up  his  crojs,  and  bear  it, 
and  follow  him,  he  could  not  be  his  difciple  ;  fo 
he  fliows,  in  the  parable,  that  unlefs  they  calculated 
©a  ai  high  an  expenfe  as  the  lofs  of  their  lives,  they 


2 1 4  Notes  on  the  Parables* 

could  not  be  his  difciples,  as  he  had  calculated  that 
expenfe  for  himfelf.  S 

2d.  That  if  they  expected  to  build  inWe  chrif- 
tian  labor,  they  mult  not  only  dig  deep  and  lay 
their  foundation  upon  a  rock,  but  muit  look  for 
fuiliciency  for  accomplifliing  their  labor  from  the 
grace  of  the  great  Redeemer, 

3d.  That  a  profellion  of  chriflianity,  without 
thofe  calculations,  would  tend  to  their  own  fliame, 
and  a  dishonor  of  the  caufe  which  they  profcfled 
to  cfpoufe. 

4th.  Ihat  if  they  could  not  calculate  on  a  vic- 
tory over  the  adverfary,  by  the  way  of  the  crofs, 
but  undertook  the  conteil  under  any  other  confid- 
eration,  they  were  not  fo  wife  as  a  king  who  would 
fend  an  ambaff.ige  to  his  foe,  and  fue  for  condi- 
tions of  peace,  knowing  that  he  \vas  not  able  to 
contend  with  double  numbers. 

ILLUSTRATION. 
That  Chrift's  ranfomed  church  is  reprefented 
by  a  building,  may  be  iliown  by  the  following 
fcriptures.  i  Cor.  iii.  9.  ''  Ye  are  God*s  build- 
ing." 16.  '•  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple 
of  God,  and  that  the  fpirit  of  God  dwelleth  in 
you?  2  Cor.  vi.  16.  "  And  what  agreement  hath 
the  temple  of  God  with  idols  ?  for  ye  are  the  tem- 
ple of  the  living  God  ;  as  God  hath  faid,  I  will 
dwell  in  them  ;  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they 
lliall  be  my  people."  Eph.  ii.  19 — 22.  "Nov/, 
therefore,  ye  are  no  more  ftrangers  and  foreigners, 
but  fellow-citizens  with  the  faints,  and  cf  the 
houfchold  of  God  ;  and  are  built  upon  the  foun- 
dation of  the  apoiiles  and  prophets,  Jefus  Chrift 
himfelf  being  the  chief  corner  llone  :  in  whom  all 
the  building,  fitly  framed  together,  groweth  unto 


Notes  on  the  Parables*  2 1 5 

an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord  :  in  whom  ye  alfo  arc 
builded  together  for  an  habitation  of  God  through 
the  fpirit." 

The  rearing  of  this  myflical  temple  of  God, 
fuggeiis  the  following  fubjects  of  difcuiTion  : 

ill.  The  materials  of  which  this  building  is 
compofed. 

2d.  I'he  iituation  from  which  thefe  materials  are 
taken,  and  their  preparation  for  this  temple  :  and, 

3d.  The  (kill,  and  operative  pow^r  of  the  build- 
er to  complete  the  work. 

ift.  The  materials  of  which  this  building  is  com- 
pofed, arc  mankind  under  the  denominations  of 
the  Jew  and  the  Gentile  world.  This  idea  is  found 
in  the  introduction  of  the  above  quotation  from 
Ephefians,  ico,  verfe  11,  and  onward.  "  Where- 
fore, remember,  that  ye  being  in  time  pall  gen- 
tiles in  the  fiedi,  who  are  called  uncircumcifion 
by  that  which  is  called  the  circumcifion  in  the 
flefh  made  by  hands;  that  at  that  time  ye  were 
without  Chriil,  being  aliens  from  the  comuion- 
wealth  of  Ifrael,  and  (Irangers  from  the  covenant 
of  promife,  having  no  hope,  and  without  God  in 
the  world  :  But  now,  in  ChKfi:  Jefus,  ye  who 
fometimes  were  far  ofi  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood 
of  Chrift.  For  he  is  our  peace,  who  hath  made  both 
one,  and  hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of 
partition  between  us  ;  having  abolifhed  in  his  flelli 
the  enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments  con- 
tained in  ordinances  ;  for  to  make  in  himfclf  of 
twain,  one  new  m.an,  fo  making  peace ;  and  that 
he  might  reconcile  both  unto  God  in  one  body  by 
the  crofs,  having  flaln  tiie  enmity  thereby  ;  and 
came  and  preached  peace  to  you  which  were  afar 
off,  and  to  them  that  v/ere  nigh.  For  through  him 
we  both  have  accefs  by  one  fpirit  unto  the  father." 


ai6  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

Here  we  fee  that  the  apoftle  reprefents  the  Jews 
under  the  denomination  of  the  circumcificn,  and 
the  gentiles  under  that  of  the  uncircumcifion. 
Thefc,  he  argues,  are  made  one  by  him  who  is  our 
peace  ;  and  by  obferving  the  connexion  of  the  ar- 
gument, we  find  that  thefe  two,  made  one,  are  the 
materials  of  which  the  before  mentioned  temple  of 
God  is  compofed. 

sd.  The  fituation  from  which  thefe  materials 
are  taken,  and  their  preparation  for  this  temple, 
we  aUb  learn  from  the  arguments  in  the  above 
quotation.  The  fituation  of  the  gentiles  is  repre- 
fented  as  follows :  "  Without  Chrift,  being  aliens 
from  the  commonwealth  of  Ifrael,  and  ftrangers 
from  the  covenant  of  promife,  having  no  hope, 
and  without  God  in  the  world/'  This  was  the 
fituation  of  the  gentiles.  The  Jews  are  reprefent- 
ed  as  being  only  circumcifed  in  the  flefh,  with 
hands ;  which  the  fame  apoflle  tells  us  availeth 
nothing  in  Chrift.  The  method  by  which  thefe 
materials  are  prepared  for  this  temple,  is  expreffed 
in  the  following  words  :  "  And  that  he  might  re- 
concile both  unto  God  in  one  body  by  the  crofs, 
having  flain  the  enmity  thereby."  Reconciliation 
to  God  is  the  preparation  neceifary.  How  was 
this  reconciliation  efie^led?  Was  it  by  any  thing 
wrought  by  thefe  unreconciled  people  ?  No.  The 
apoftle  fays  that  Chrift  did  this  "  by  the  crofs." 
How  was  the  enmity  deftroyed  ?  By  the  crofs. 
What  was  the  confequence  ?  Peace  was  preached 
to  them  who  were  afar  off,  and  to  them  who  were 
nigh.  The  univerfality  of  this  reconciliation,  the 
apoftle  mentions  in  a  number  of  paffages,  particu- 
larly, Col.  i.  19,  20.  "For  it  plcafcd  the  father, 
that  in  him  fliould  all  fulnefs  dwell  ;  and  (having 
made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his  crofs)  by 


Uotes  on  the  Parables.  Ttj 

him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himfelf ;  by  him, 
I  fay,  whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things 
in  heaven." 

It  being  evident  that  the  object  of  reconciling 
mankind  to  God,  embraces  the  whole  human 
!  family,  it  may  be  well, 

3d.  To  enquire  whether  this  reconciler  has  fuf« 
ficient  fkill  and  power  to  effect  fo  great  a  work. 
See  Eph.  ii.  4,  5,  6.  "  But  God,  who  is  rich  in 
mercy,  for  his  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  us, 
even  when  we  were  dead  in  iins,  hath  quickened 
us  together  with  Chrift ;  (by  grace  are  ye  faved  :) 
and  hath  raifed  us  up  together,  and  made  us  fie 
together  in  heavenly  places  in  Chrift  Jefus."  Here 
the  apoftle  produces  inftances,  in  which  God,  for 
the  great  love  which  he  has  for  thofe  who  are 
dead  in  fins,  quickened  them  in  Chrift.  See  alfo 
Phil.  iii.  21.  "Who  Ihall  change  our  vile  body, 
that  it  may  be  fadiioned  like  unto  his  glorious 
body,  according  to  the  working  whereby  he  is 
able  even  to  fubdue  all  things  unto  himfelf." 
Here  the  ability  is  fully  expreifed.  i  Cor.  xv. 
53,  54.  "For  this  corruptible  maft  put  on  incor- 
ruption,  and  this  mortal  muft  put  on  immortality. 
So  when  this  corruptible  fliall  have  put  on  incor- 
ruption,  and  this  mortal  fhall  have  put  on  inmior- 
tality,  then  (hall  be  brought  to  pafs  the  faying  that 
is  written,  death  is  fvvallowed  up  in  viclory." 

If  it  be  acknowledged  that  all  the  treafures  of 
V  wifdom  and  knowledge  dwell  in  Chrift, it  muft  be 
acknowledged  likewife  that  he  w<ints  no  /ikill  to 
accomplifh  his  undertaking  :  and  if  it  be  granted 
that  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth  is  commit- 
ted to  Chrift,  it  muft  alfo  be  granted  that  he  has 
fiifficient  power  to  accomplifh  his  defign  in  reconcil- 
ing all  things  to  himfelf.  Zech.  iv.  9.  "  The  hands 
T 


2 1 8  l^fft^s  on  ihe  Tarahlei. 

of  Zerubbabel  have  laid  the  foundation  of  this 
houfe,  his  hands  fhall  alfo  finiih  it."  Verfe  7. 
•«  And  he  fhall  bring  forth  the  head-flone  thereof 
with  fhoutings,  crying,  grace,  grace  unto  it." 

The  procels  of  the  Saviour  under  the  fimilitudc;, 
of  a  king  going  to  make  war  againft  another,  fur- 
nifhes  the  following  fubjefe  for  difcuffion  : 

I  ft.  Ihe  power  againft  which  this  war  is  profe- 
cuted.  2d.  The  objed  to  be  obtained  by  victory 
in  favor  of  Chrift.  And  3d.  The  fufficiency  of 
power  to  overcome  on  the  part  of  the  Prince  o£ 
Peace. 

ift.  The  fcriptures  give  the  following  account 
of  the  power  againft  which  this  holy  war  is  to  be 
profecuted.  Gen.  iii.  i.  "  Now  the  ferpent  was 
more  fubtle  than  any  beaft  of  the  field  which  the 
Lord  God  had  made."  a  Cor.  xi.  3.  "  But  I  fear, 
left  by  any  means,  as  the  ferpent  beguiled  Eve 
through  his  fubtilty,  fo  your  minds  flioiild  be  cor* 
rupted  from  the  fimplicity  that  is  in  Chrift."  St. 
John  viii.  44.  "  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil., 
and  the  lufts  of  your  father  ye  will  do :  he  was  a 
murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  abode  not  in 
the  truth,  becaufe  there  is  no  truth  in  him.  Whea 
he  fpeaketh  a  lie  he  fpeaketh  of  his  own  ;  for  he 
is  a  liar,  and  the  father  of  it."  1  John  iii.  8.  "  He 
that  committeth  fin  is  of  the  devil ;  for  the  devil 
finneth  from  the  beginning."  James  iii.  14,  15,  j6. 
"  But  if  ye  have  bitter  envying  and  ftrife  in  your 
hearts,  glory  not,  and  lie  not  againft  the  truth.  I 
This  wifdom  defcendeth  not  from  above,  but  is 
earthly,  fenfual,  deviliih.  For  where  envying  and 
ilrife  is,  there  is  confufion,  and  every  evil  work." 
The  fcriptures  which  fpeak  of  the  power  of 
Chrift  to  oppofe  and  overcome  this  adverfary,  and 
the  objed  to  be  obtained  by  this  vidory,  will  be 


Notes  on  the  Parabks.  2 1 9 

found  to  be  the  fame,  generally.  See  Gen.  lii.  15. 
"  And  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the 
woman,  and  between  thy  feed  and  her  feed  :  it 
fhall  bruife  thy  head,  and  thou  Ihalt  bruife  his 
heel."  Heb.  ii.  14,  15.  "  Forafmuch  then  as  the 
children  are  partakers  of  flefli  and  blood,  he  alfo 
himfelf  likewife  took  part  of  the  fame ;  that 
through  death  he  might  deftroy  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil  -,  and  deliver 
them  who,  through  fear  of  death,  were  all  their 
life  time  fubject  to  bondage.**  i  John  iii.  8.  "  For 
this  purpofe  the  Son  of  God  was  manifefled,  that 
he  might  deftroy  the  works  of  the  devil.**  Col.  i. 
13.  "  Who  hath  delivered  us  from  the  power  of 
darknefs,  and  hath  tranflated  us  into  the  kingdom 
of  his  dear  Son.** 

By  the  foregoing  quotations,  which  are  but  a 
few  of  the  many  fcriptures  which  read  to  the  fame 
effect,  the  following  facts  are  evident : 

ift.  Ihat  it  was  the  defign  of  the  Saviour's  mif- 
fion  to  detbroy  the  devil,  and  all  lin,  the  works  of 
the  devil.     And, 

2d.  To  deliver  mankind  from  the  power  of 
darknefs,  which  is  the  power  of  the  devil,  or  falfe- 
hood,  into  the  kingdom  of  light,  truth  and  right- 
eoufnefs.  Thefe  two  propofitions  are  as  evidently 
fupported  by  the  above  quotations,  as  the  faci:s  are 
that  there  is  or  ever  was  that  power  wdiich  is  rep- 
refented  in  the  fcriptures  under  the  name  of  ytr- 
pent^  father  of  lies ^  darknefs^  devil,  ov  fatan  :  Or  fuch 
a  power  as  is  reprefented  by  the  name  oifeed  of  the 
woman.  Son  of  God,  Mediator,  Saviour,  Captain  of  fal- 
vat  ion.  High  Priefi,  Light  of  the  world.  Lamb  of  God^ 
covenant  of  the  people,  and  Lord  of  all. 

From  thefe  facls,  it  is  rcafonable  to  argue,  that 
all  the  doclrine,  which  has  ever  been  preached  in 


2  2  o  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

chriftendoni,  which  reprefents  the  endlefs  contin- 
uance of  the  devil  and  his  kingdom,  and  the  end- 
lefs continuance  of  man's  captivity  under  the 
power  of  darknefs,  is  in  direct  oppofition  to  the 
declared  objects  of  the  holy  wars  declared  and  car- 
ried on  againil  the  powers  of  darknefs,  by  the 
prince. of  light. 

St.  Paul  has  many  luminous  palTages  on  the  fub- 
jecl  of  univerfal  fubmiflion  to  the  power  of  Chrift, 
one  of  which  we  wall  here  notice.  See  Phil,  ii, 
9,  lo,  1 1.  "  Wherefore  God  alfo  lath  highly  exalt* 
ed  him,  and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above 
every  name  ;  that  in  the  name  of  Jefua  every  knee 
ftiould  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in 
earth,  and  things  under  the  earth  j  and  that  every 
tongue  fiiould  confefs  that  Jefus  Chrift  is  Lord, 
to  the  glory  of  God  the  father?'  Who  can  clofc 
tiieir  eyes  fo  as  not  to  fee  that  univerfal  fubmiifion 
and  allegiance  to  the  kingdom  of  the  exalted  Sa^ 
viour,  to  ihe  glory  of  God  the  father,  13  the  m.ani- 
ftft  fenfc  of  this  pafTage  ?  Why  does  the  glory  of 
God  the  father,  require  this  univerfal  fubmiilion 
and  allegiance  to  CliriR  ?  See  the  anfwer  in  the 
2d  Ffalm,  8th  verfc.  "  Afk  of  me,  and  1  fhall  give 
thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inherittince,  and  the 
uttcrmcrt  pans  of  the  earth  for  thy  poirefiicn." 
When  a  king^  or  rnonsrch,  gives  provinces,  or 
territories  or  couiitries,  to  his  fon  for  his  inheri- 
tance, the  honor  of  his  crown  guarantees  the  alle- 
giance of  thofe  poR'effions  to  the  prince.  According- 
ly the  prophet  fays,  Pfalm  c:\:  i,  2,  3.  "  Ihe  Lord 
faid  unto  my  Lord,  fit  thou  at  my  right  hand, 
until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  foot  Hod.  The 
Lord  fliall  fend  the  rod  of  thy  ftrengih  out  of 
Zion  :  rule  tliou  in  the  midfl  of  thine  enemies. 
Thy  people  (hall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy 
g^DVv^er.*'     li&re  we  fee  the  father  enter  the  couu- 


\ 


Not^s  onthe  Parablesi  ill 

try  wKich  he  has  given  to  his  fon,  faying  to  him. 
Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  as  a  token  to  the  peo- 
ple that  I  have  given  the  government  of  thefe 
territories  into  thy  hands.  1  have  given  this  peo- 
ple to  thee  for  an  inheritance  ;  they  were  my  fub- 
jeds,  thou  art  my  lawful  heir,  and  this  is  the  in- 
i  heritance  which  1  have  given  thee.  And  it  is  the 
rod  of  thy  ftrength,  which  I  will  now  caufe  to 
come  forth  from  the  covenant,  in  which  this 
country  is  infured  to  thee,  by  which  thou  Ihalt 
rule  in  the  midft  of  thefe  thy  prefent  enemies, 
who  have  faid,  we  will  not  have  this  man  to  rule 
over  us ;  and  when  this  rod  of  thy  ftrength,  which 
is  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  is  difplayed  in 
the  adminiftration  of  thy  government,  thy  people, 
whom  I  have  given  thee,  fliall  be  a  willing  people. 
How  divinely  glorious  muft  it  be  to  God  the  fa- 
ther, to  have  every  knee  bow  to  Chrift,  and  every 
tongue  confefs  him  to  be  Lord  !  And  how  ihame- 
fully  diflionoring  it  is  for  the  fpiritual  warriors 
who  have  enlifted  under  the  banner  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace,  and  have  received  bounty  for  their  en- 
couragement, to  oppofe  the  univerfal  exteniion  of 
his  power,  and  the  univerfal  fubmiflion  of  his  pof- 
feflions  to  his  government !  See  the  beautiful  ac- 
count which  is  given  of  this  Captain  of  our  falva- 
tion  in  Ifaiah  xlii.  i — 8,  "Behold  my  fervant, 
whom  I  uphold  ;  mine  ele(5l  in  whom  my  foul  de- 
lighteth  :  I  have  put  my  fpirit  upon  him  j  he  fhall 
bring  forth  judgment  to  the  gentiles.  He  fhall 
not  cry,  nor  lift  up,  nor  caufe  his  voice  to  be  heard 
in  the  ftreet.  A  bruifed  reed  Ihall  he  not  break, 
and  the  fmoking  flax  fhall  he  not  quench  ;  he  iliall 
bring  forth  judgment  unto  truth.  He  fhall  not 
fail,  nor  be  difcouraged,  till  he  have  fet  judgment 
in  the  earth  ^  and  the  illes  fhall  wait  for  his  law, 
T  2 


2-2  2  Not^s  on  -ihe  PdrablcYir 

Ihus  faith  God  the  Lord,  he  that;  created  the  hear- 
ens  and  flretched  them  out  ;  he  that  fpread  fortl 
tiie  earth,  and  that  which  cometh  out  of  it  ;    hai 
that  giveth  breath  unto  the  people  upon  it, and  fpiri 
to  them  that  walk  therein  5  I  the  Lord  have  called 
thee  in  righteoufnefs,  and  will  hold   thine   hand, 
and  will  keep  thee,  and  give  thee  for  a  covenant 
of  the  people,  for  a  light  of  the  gentiles  ;  to  open- 
the  blind  eyes,  to  bring  out  the  prifoners,  and. 
them  that  fit  in  darknefs  out  of  the  pHfon  houfe 
I  am  the  Lord  ;  that  is  my  name :  and .  my  gloryJ 
will  1  not  give  to  another,  neither  my  praife  to 
graven  images."      In  this   fpiritual   warfare  the' 
apoftles  of  the  Lamb  were  engaged,  whofe  weapons 
were  not  carnal,  but  mighty  through  God  to  the. 
pulling  down  of  flrong  holds  ;  cafling  down  imag-- 
ioations,  and  every  high  thing,  that  exalteth  itfelf 
againft  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  bringing  intOv 
captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Chrift. . 
As  they  were  affured  that  the  Captain  of  their  fal- 
vation  would  never  be  difcouraged,  fo  they  did. 
not  faint,   nor  grow  weak  in   their   minds,  but, 
fought  a  good  fight,  kept  the  faith,  finiflied  their, 
cpurfe,  and  received  their  crowns. 


I 


PARABLES  XXXm,  XXXIV,  XXXV. 

<*-  And  he  (pake  this  parable. unto  thena,  faying,  What  man  of 
you  having  an  hundred  fheep,  if  he  lofe  one  of  them,  doth 
not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine  in  the  wildernefs,  and  go  after 
that  which  is  loft,  until  he  find  it  ?  and,  when  he  hath  found  \< 
it,  he  layeth  it  on  his  fhoulders  rejoicing .     And,  when  he 
cometh  home,  he  calleth  ioge,ther  his  friends  and  neighbors, 
frying  unto  them,  Rejoice  with  me;  for  I  have  found  my 
fhesp  which  was  loft.     I  fay  unto  you,  that  likewife  joy  fhall  .     ^ 
be  in  heaven  over  one  finner  that  repenteth,  more  than  over      [ 
aineiy  and  nine  juft  perfoQS  which  need  no  repentance."  j 

J.UKB  XV.  3  —  7. 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  2:23^ 

This  chapter  contains  three  parables;  and  though 
they  were  Ipoken  on  the  fame  occafion,  and  to  the 
fame  effect,  they  contain  a  great  variety  of  beau- 
tiful and  inftruclive  iimilitudes.  The  reader  wilt- 
ealily  difcover  the  occafion  of  Chrifl's  fpeaking 
thofe  parables  to  the  fcribes  and  pharifees,  by  ob* 
ferving  the  firft  and  fecond  verfes  of  this  chapter, 
which  read  thus,  "  Then  drew  near  unto  him  all 
the  publicans  and  finners  for  to  hear  him.  And 
the  pharifees  and  fcribes  murmured,  faying,  This 
man  receiveth  finners,  and  eateth  with  them." 
Here  we  have  the  objection  which  the  pharifees- 
ilated  againfl  Chrift,  which  was,  that  he  received 
finners.  And  as  an  anfvver  to  this  objection,  tha 
three  parables  which  we  find  in  this  chapter  were 
fpoken  ;  and  they  contain  fo  rational  a  vindication 
of  the  propriety  of  the  thing  for  which  he  was  ac- 
cufed,  that  I  entertain  no  doubt  but  that  thofe. 
pharifees  and  fcribes  felt  the  force  of  his  argu- 
ments, and  were  afhamed  of  their  own  weaknefs, 
and  the  impropriety  of  their  allegation.  And  I- 
greatly  wonder,  that  pharifees  of  the  prefent  day, 
who  fancy  themfelves  righteous  and  others  wicked^: 
are  fo  loft,  as  not  to  feel  reproved  when  they  read, 
thofe  words  of  Chrift. 

In  order  to  give  the  naturalideas  contained  in 
the  firft  parable,  I  obferve, 

I  ft.  Chrift  takes  his  adverfaries  on  their  own 
ground,  admitting,  in  the  argument,  that  the  idea 
which  they  entertained  of  their  own  goodnefs,  and 
the  opinion  they  had  of  thevvickednefs  of  thofe 
whom  they  called  finners,  was  juft,  and  well  found- 
ed ;  in  which  rriethod,  as  we  have  before  noted, 
he  replied  to  Simon  the  pharifee  on  a  like  occafion. 
I ;  underftand,  therefore,  that  the  ninety  and  nine 
Ikeep  which  went  not  aftray,  reprefented  the  phar-. 


424  Notes  on  the  ParaMesi 

ifees   and   fcribes ;  and  the  one  that  did,  fignifies 
the  publicans  and  finners. 

2d.  The  impropriety  of  their  objeclion,  may  be 
fliown  by  ilating  the  following  queftion  :  If  you 
have  fo  much  care  of  your  property  in  carnal  fub- 
ftance,  as  to  go  in  fearch  of  one  flieep  that  goes 
aftray  out  of  an  hundred^  why  do  you  condemn 
me  for  feeking  the  recovery  of  fo  many  of  mine 
whom  you  acknowledge  have  gone  aftray  ?  The 
reader  will  alfo  fee  the  propriety  of  adding  to  the 
weight  of:  the  queftion  the  conftderation,  that  the 
property,  which  Chrift  holds  in  ftnners,  ftands, 
in  the  parable,  as  things  eternal,  to  the  fading, 
things  of  time. 

3d.  The  faithfulnefs  of  the  Saviour  of  finners, 
in  feeking  and  faving  that  which  is  loft,  is  fhown 
by  the  fhepherd's  going  after  the  fheep  "  until  he 
finds  it."  It  may  be  well  to  note,  that  there  is  no 
reprefentation  of  the  fhepherd's  calling  the  fheep, 
and  leaving  it  to  its  own  will  whether  it  would 
return  to  the  fold,  or  not ;  nor  of  his  feeking  till 
he  was  weary,  without  fuccefs,  but  he  goeth  after 
ituntil  he^^/x^it.  O,  my  foul,  had  thy  fhepherd 
been  lefs  faithful,  thy  wanderings  had  never  been- 
reclaimed. 

4th.  What  the  Saviour  does  for  finners,  is  far- 
ther  Ihown,  in  that  the  fhepherd  does  neither  lead, 
nor  drive  his  fheep,  but  taketh  and  layeth  it  on 
his  flioulders  rejoicing  ;  not  trufting  the  emaciated 
wanderer  to  its  own  ftrength.  The  reader  will* 
remember^  that  the  government  is  upon  the  fhoul- 
ders  of  Chrift,  and  that  his  name^is  called  Won- 
derful. 

5th.  What  is  meant  by  friends  and  neighbors 
being  called  together  to  rejoice  becaufe  the  loft 
was  found,  is  fliown  in  the  application  which  Chrift 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  225 

fiimfelf  made;  fee  verfe  7.  "  I  fay  unto  you,  that 
likewife  joy  fhall  be  in  heaven  over  one  ftnner  that 
repentetb^  more  than  over  ninety  and  nine  juft  per- 
fons  which  need  no  repentance."  On  this  appli- 
cation, I  make  the  following  remarks  : 

ill.  It  is  evident  that  there  is  joy  in  heaven  in 
confequence  of  the  falvation  of  linners,  which 
gives  us  a  favorable  opinion  that  charity  is  an  in- 
habitant of  heaven,  as  well  as  of  earth  :  And  that 
when  fouls  g^t  there  through  the  b.ood  of  the  a o/s, 
they  draw  divine  confoladons  when  they  know" 
the  work  of  the  Redeemer  is  going  on  below,  in 
tiie  recovery  of  thofe  who  are  yet  in  Hn. 

2d.  If  the  filvation  of  one  finner  caufe  joy  in: 
heaven,  the  reco'Lery  of  the  thiufands  w\\o  crouded  to 
hear  the  gracious  words  which  proceeded  from  the. 
lips  of  him  wh')  fpcike,  as  never  man  fpake,  could 
by  no  means  have  a  contrary  efFcd,  but  would  be 
of  ftiil  greater  confequence  to  the  joys  of  the 
happy. 

3d.  I  infer,  if  the  falvalion  of  one  fmnercaufc 
joy  in  heaven,  and  if  the  falvation  of  ;,'Zi772;increafe 
that  joy  in  proportion  to  the  number  faved,  the 
entire  lofs  oi  one^  muft,  of  neceffity,  caufe  as  much 
forrow,  as  the  falvation  of  one,  does  joy  ;  and 
the  iofs  of  many  iiicreafes  that  forrow  in  a  ratio 
of  number. 

4th.  As  Chriil:  gave  the  joys  of  heaven  as  a 
fuflicient  reafon  for  his  having  mercy  on  fmnci's^ 
I  am  happy  in  believing  that  he  polTefres  as  ilrong 
a  deiire  to  five  finners,  as  he  does  to  increafe  the 
joys  of  the  bleifed  ;  and  that  until  he  is  carelefa 
of  the  latter,  he  will  not  be  of  the  former. 

Some  of  the  reafons  why  thofe  in  heaven  fhould 
rejpice  at  the  return  of  the  wandering  finner  : 


«26  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

i&.  As  their  whole  fouls  are  fwallowed  up  in 
the  love  of  God,  they  rejoice  that  others  are 
brought  to  love  fo  divine  an  objecT:, 
^  fid.  As  they  love  to  fing  the  praifes  of  the  cru^ 
cified,  they  rejoice  to  have  others  engaged  in  the 
heavenly  employment  jujlly  due  to  him  who  led 
captivity  captive, 

3d.  In  the  fame  proportion  as  they  love  God  and 
the  Redeemer,  they  hate  and  abhor  every  princi- 
ple of  vvickednefs  in  finful  man,  and  therefore 
rejoice  at  the  deftrudion  of  fin. 

4th.  As  the  divinefl  principle  pofTefTed  by  the 
glorified,  is  charity,  they  rejoice  in  the  falvation  of 
others,  as  they  do  in  their  own  felicity. 

«*  Either  what  woman  hiving  ten  pieces  of  filver,  if  ftie  lofe 
one  piece,  doth  not  light  a  candle,  and  fwe*>p  the.  hj^ufe,  and 
feel:  dih'gently  till  Ihe  find  it  ?  and,  when  fne  hath  found  it, 
fte  calleth  her  friends  and  her  neighbors  together,  faying 
Rejoice  with  me  ;  for  I  have  found  the  piece  which  I  had' 
^o^-"  Luke  xv.  8,  9. 

In  this  fecond  parable,  I  find  fimilar  ideas  to= 
thofe  in  the  former. 

I  ft.  The  pharifees  and  fcribes  are  reprefented 
by  nine  pieces  of  filver  which  were  not  loft  ;  and: 
the  publicans  and  finners,  by  one  that  was. 

2d.  The  intent  of  this  parable  is  difcovered  by 
ftating  a  queftion,  as  in  notes  on  the  former  para- 
ble, thus,  if  a  woman  could  be  juftified  for  light- 
ing a  candle,  fweeping  her  houfe,  and  feekingdili- 
gently  for  one  piece  of  filver,  which  was  loft  out 
of  ten,  until  fiie  found  it ;  might  it  not  be  juftifi- 
able  for  Chrift  to  come  a  light  into  the  world,  to 
leek  and  to  favc  the  vail  multitudes  who  were  loft  in 
fin  and  death  ? 


"Notes  on  ihe  Parables.  127 

3d.  The  property  which  Chrift  holds  in  the  loft 
finner,  I  learn  thus  ;  that  piece  of  7nGney  which  was 
lo/l^  belonged  to  the  woman  who  loft  it  ;  and  it 
was  no  lels  her  property  when  it  was  loft,  than  be- 
fore.  Again,  it  was  as  real  filver  even  in  its  lofl 
fiate^  as  when  it  was  with  the  other  nine  ;  and  that 
its  continuing  to  reiain  its  real  value,  was  all  that 
rendered  it  an  object  of  recovery. 

4th.  Ihe  faithful nefs  of  tlie  Saviour  in  the  re- 
covery of  the  finner,  is  fignified  by  the  woman's 
feeking  until  fhe  found  the  piece  that  was  loft  ;  the 
fame  as  the  fticpherd's  going  after  the  flieep  until 
he  found  it. 

5th.  What  is  meant  by  calling  friends  and  neigh- 
bors together,  to  rejoice  that  the  loft  was  found,  is 
fignified  in  the  application,  as  in  the  former  para- 
-ble. 

♦<  And  he  faid,  A  certain  man  had  two  fons  :  and  the  younger 
of  >th«m  faid  to  his  father,  Pather,  give  me  the  portion  of 
goods  that  falleih  to  me.  And  he  divi/led  unto  them  his 
living.  And,  not  many  d.iys  after,  the  younger  fon  gather. 
ed  all  together,  and  took  hi^  journey  into  a  far  country,  and 
there  wafted  his  fubflance  with  riotous  living.  And,  when 
he  had  fpent  all,  there  arofc  a  mighty  famine  in  that  land  ; 
and  he  began  to  be  in  want.  And  he  went  and  joined  him. 
felf  to  a  citizen  of  that  country  ;  and  he  fent  him  into  his 
fields  to  feed  fwine.  And  he  would  fain  have  filled  his  belly 
with  the  hu(ks  that  the  fwine  did  eat  :  and  no  man  gave  un- 
to him.  And  when  he  came  to  himfdf,  he  faid.  How  many 
hired  fervants  of  ray  father's  have  bread  enough,  and  to 
fparc,  and  I  periOi  with  hunger  !  I  will  anfe,  and  go  to  my 
father,  and  will  fay  unto  him,  Father,  I  have  finned  againft 
heaven,  and  before  thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called 
thy  fon  :  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  fervants.  And  he 
arofc,  and  came  to  his  father.     But,  when  he  was  yet  a  great 


22S  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

w«y  ofF,  his  father  fiw  him,  and  had  compaffi^n,  and  ran, 
and  fell  on  hl^neck,  and  kiflcd  him.  And  the  fon  faid  unio 
him,  Father,  I  have  finned  againft  heaven,  and  in  thy  fight, 
and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  fon.  3ut  the,  fa- 
ther faid  to  his  fervants,  Bring  forth  the  beft  robe,  and  pat 
it  on  him,  and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand,  and  (hoes  on  his  feet. 
And  bring  hither  the  fatted  calf,  and  kill  it  ;  and  let  us  eat 
and  he  merry.  For  this  my  fon  was  dead,  and  is  aHv« 
again  ;  he  was  loft,  and  is  fouad.  And  they  began  to  be 
meiry.  Now  his  elder  fon  was  in  the  field  :  and  as  he  came, 
and  drew  nigh  to  the  houfe,  he  iieard  mufic  and  daocing. 
And  he  called  one  of  the  fervanis,  and  afked  what  thefe 
things  m?ant.  And  he  faid  unto  him,  Thy  brother  is  come  : 
and  ihy  father  hath  killed  the  fatted  calf,  becanfe  he  hath  re- 
•ceivedhim  fife  and  found.  And  he  was  angry,  and  would 
not  go  in  ;  therefore  came  h's  father  out,  and  intieated  him. 
And  he  anfwering  faid  to  his  father,  Lo,  thefe  many  year« 
do  I  ferve  thee  ;  neither  iranfgrcffsd  I  at  ary  ti^e  thy  com- 
mandment, and  yet  thou  never  gaveft  ms  akid,  that  I  might 
make  merry  with  my  friends  :  but  as  foon  as  this  thy  fon 
^«i;as  come,  which  hath  devoured  thy  living  wiih  harlots,  thou 
baft  killed  for  him  ihs  fatted  calf.  And  he  faid  unto  him. 
Son,  thou  att  ever  with  me,  and  all  that  I  have  is  ihine- 
It  was  meet  that  we  (hoalJ  make  merry,  and  be  glad  : 
for  this  thy  brother  was  dead>  and  is  alive  again  ;  and  was 
loft  and  is  found."  Luke  xv.   ii — 32. 

This  third  parable  affords  the  following  notes : 

I  ft.  The  pharifees  and  fcrlbes  are  Jlgnified  by 
the  elder  Ion. 

2d.  The  publicans  and  finners,  by  the  younger. 

3d.  The  ii.:;hteoufnefs  of  which  thofe  pharifees 
boafted,  is  reprefented  by  the  induftry  and  faith- 
fuluefs  of  the  elder  fon. 

4th.  The  finfulnefs  which  thofe  pharifees  could 
fee  in  thofe  whom  they  called  finners  above  ihem- 


1 


.  Notes  on  the  Parables*  229 

felves,  is  reprefented  by  the  prodigality  of  the 
younger  fori. 

5th.  The  meannefs  and  unholinefs  of  the  fervicc 
'Of  iin,  is  lignified  by  the  ^vodi\^-xW  feeding  fivine^  an 
animal,  by  the  law  of  Moles,  deemed  unclean. 

6th.  The  endeavors  of  the  wicked  to  fiiibfy  the 
hunger  of  the  immortal  foul  with  ihc  fruits  of  the 
flejh  or  carnal  mind,  is  fhown  by  the  prodigal's 
wifliing  to  fill  his  belly  with  the  hufJis  which  the 
fwine  ate. 

7th.  That  fin  is  a  land  of  famine,  in  which  the 
foul  can  never  enjoy  the  bread  of  life,  1  learn  from 
the  famine  which  arofe  in  the  country  where  the 
prodigal  had  v/andered,  by  which  lie  was  reduced 
to  want,  and  came  to  himfelf. 

8th.  1  he  riches  of  the  Father  of  mercies,  is  fig- 
nified  by  the  father's  having  many  hired  fervants, 
who  all  had  bread  enough,  and  to  fpare. 

9th.  The  effecl  produced  by  the  famine  which 
the  fiDul  experiences  in  Iin  and  wickednefs,  I  learn 
by  the  prodigal's  coming  to  a  determination  to  go 
home  to  his  father,  to  which  determination  he 
was  compelled  by  the  gnawings  of  pale  hunger. 

loth.  The  unworthinefs  felt  in  the  foul  of  a 
repenting  finner,  w^ho  is  confcious  to  himfelf  of  hav- 
ing finned  againft  heaven,  and  in  the  fight  of  God  ; 
and  awfully  feels  the  lofs  of  fonfhip,  and  a  willing- 
nefs  to  become  a  door- keeper  in  the  houfe  of  God, 
if  fo  be  he  might  obtain  the  favors  enjoyed  by  ler- 
vants,  who  eat  bread  in  their  mafter's  houle,  is 
intended  by  the  confellion  and  requeft  made  by 
the  prodigal  to  his  father. 

iith.  'J'he  fatherly  kindnefs  and  loving  mercy 
of  God  towards  finners,  is  (hown  by  tiie  father*s 
running  to  meet  his  fon  while  yet  a  great  way  oft, 
U 


230 


Isofes  on  the  Parables. 

falling  on  his  neck,  fondly  embracing  and  com- 
pallionately  kiffing  his  long  loll  child. 

1 2th.  Ihe  abundant  favors,  privileges  and  mer- 
cies conferred  by  divine  grace,  on  a  reclaimed 
profligate,  beyond  all  the  requefts  made  by  the 
lubject,  is  intended  by  the  bed  robe,  a  ring,  flioes, 
the  preparation  of  a  tatted  calf,  and  the  ordination 
of  merriment  and  feilivity  ;  all  \vhich  were  favors 
more  than  were  alked  for.  Inftead  of  being  re- 
proved for  fpending  what  he  had  already  received, 
he  was  bid  welcom,e  to  more  ;  in  room  of  being 
admitted  to  laboi'  for  bread,  in  the  charader  of  a 
fervant,  he  is  introduced  into  his  father's  houfe  as 
a  favorite  child,  with  a  ring  on  his  hand,  a  token 
of  the  father's  love,  and  an  indication  that  he  la^ 
bored  not.  The  beft  robe,  reprefents  the  righteouf- 
nefs  of  Chrift  ;  and  flices,  being  "  lliod  with  the 
preparation  of  the  gofpd  of  peace." 

13th.  The  pharifees  laboring  in  the  law,  or  legal 
righteoufnefs,  are  meant  by  the  elder  fon's  being  in 
the  field  ;  and  their,  then  prefent,  grumblings  at 
Chrift  for  receiving  fmners,  anxl  their  rejecting 
Chrift  therefor,  is  m.eant  by  the  elder  fon's  being 
angry,  and  refufmg  to  go  into  his  father's  houfe 
becaufe  the  father  had  received  the  prodigal  fo 
kindly,  with  fuch  marks  of  afFeclion  and  tokens 
of  honor.  Had  Chrift  come  with  a  gofpel  to  fave 
the  righteous  and  condemn  the  wicked,  fo  long  as 
the  pharifees  could  have  retained  their,  then  pref- 
ent, opinion  of  themfelves  and  others,  they  might 
have  gratified  their  fpiritual  pride  in  hailing  him 
welcome,  and  zealoufly  profeiTmg  to  be  his  difci- 
pies.  But  as  he  came  not  to  call  the  righteous, 
but  finners  to  repentance,  thofe  who  were  whole, 
in  their  own  opinion,  fa.w  not  their  need  of  a  phy- 
fician,  and,  therefore,  rejeded  him. 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  2  ;  i 


14th.  The  exceeding  joys  poiTefred  by  the  gof- 
pel  convert  above  ail  tkofe  enjoyed  under  the  cov- 
enant of  works,  ftands,  in  the  reprefentation,  as 
the  joys  and  teftlvity  of  a  fatted  calf  in  a  father's 
houle,  to  many  days  of  hard  labor,  and  not  fo 
much  as  a  kid,  to  make  merry  with  friends.  O, 
the  barrennefs  of  felf-righteoufnefs  !  like  a  fig-tree 
on  which  much  labor  is  beftowedj  but  withers 
without  fruit. 

15th.  That  the  bleflings  of  everlafcinglife  in  the- 
new  covenant,  did,  in  reality,  belong  to  thofe 
grumbling  pharifees,  a»  well  as  to  thofe  whom 
they  called  linncrs,  is  fhown  by  the  father's  faying 
to  the  elder  fon,  "Son,  thou  art  ever  with  me, 
and  all  I  have  is  thine." 

And  laftly.  The  propriety  of  rejoicing  on  the 
return  and  acceptance  of  the  linner,  is  ihown  by 
the  words  of  the  text ;  "  It  was  meet  that  we 
fliould  make  merry  and  be  glad,  for  this  thy  bro- 
ther was  dead,  and  is  alive  again  ;  and  was  loft, 
and  is  found.*' 

But  obferve,  dear  reader,  liad  thofe  murmuring 
pharifees  and  fcribes  been  feniible  of  the  abomina- 
tion of  their  own  wicked  hearts,  and  the  fi.ifulnefs 
of  their  real  characlers,  they  would  have  ccnlidcr- 
cd  themfelves  as  wicked  as  they  viewed  others, 
and  felt  their  circumdance  as  loil:  flieep  that  flo:)u 
in  need  of  the  care  of  the  fliepherd  ;  like  a  piece 
of  filver  in  a  loil  condition,  never  to  be  recovered 
but  by  the  diligence  of  the  owner  ;  or  like  a  prod- 
igal fon,  who  had  idly  fpent  his  time,  and  his 
property  wickedly  ;  and  would  willingly  have 
confciled  their  unworthinefs  to  be  admitted  as 
£ons  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 


233-  Notes  on  the  F arables  • 

ILLUSTRATION, 

Like  as  the  three  parables  in  the  25th  of  Mat- 
thew  had  their  general  application  to  the  fame 
fubjefl,  lb  thefe  three  parables  in  the  15th  of 
Luke  were  evidently  fpoken,  by  Chrift,  to  illuf- 
trate  the  one  fubjeci  to  which  the  notes  apply^ 
them.  For  this  reafon  they  may  be  juftly  con- 
nected in  this  illuftration. 

As  it  is  humbly  conceived  that  the  notes  give 
the  particulars  of  thefe  parables,  in  a  manner  too 
plain  not  to  be  underftood,  the  following  illuftra- 
tion  will  confift  of  arguments  founded  on  the 
following  truths  exhibited  in  thefe  parables. 

ift.  Mankird,  though  in  a  Rate  of  alienation 
from  God,  in  a  ilate  of  fm  and  rebellion,  is  repre- 
fenred  as  the  property  of  God,  and  by  him  fo 
highly  rated  as  induces  him  to  recover  our  nature 
from  alienation  ar;d  iin. 

2d.  In  all  the  above  condition,   God  acknowl- 
edges man  to  be  his  offspring,  and  exerciks  over 
li I ra  a  hit j'leriy  providerice,   and  towards  him  all 'j 
the  fatherly  affccfit  ns  and  mercies.     And, 

3d.  'Ihe  true  fpi  it  of  heavenly  charity  rejoices 
wi\h  an  increafcd  delight  and  fatisfaction  in  the 
brini^ino:  of  iinners  to  reoenrance. 

The  firif  of  thefe  general  proportions  is  fully 
fupportcd  by  the  moil  natural  lenle  of  the  twa 
firft  parables.  Ihe  loft,  or  ftrayed  iheep,  was  the 
property  of  him  who  owned  the  ninety  and  nine 
which  went  not  aftray.  This  flieep,  by  going 
from  the  fold,  did  neither  alienate  the  property  of 
itfelf  from  the  owner,  nor  change  its  nature  to 
any  other  fpecies  of  animal,  for  had  cither  cf  thefe 
events  been  the  confequence  of  the  fheep's  going 
aftray,  it  might  render  it  improper  for  him  who 
kad  been  the  owner  to  go  after  it.     If  the  fheep. 


l^Gtes  on  the 

\v\\tx\  aftray,  were  not  the  property  of  him  to 
whom  it  belonged  before  it  went  adray,  why 
Ihould  hefeekit?  If  he  found  it,  he  could  not 
fay,  as  in  the  parable,  ''  I  have  found  my  Jheep 
which  was  loft.'*  Or  if  the  flieep  had  changed  its 
fpecies,  it  might  have  become  an  animal  of  no 
value  to  the  former  owner.  It  is  true  that  the 
fheep,  by  llraying  from  the  fold  to  which  it  be- 
longed, might,  by  degrees,  lofe  its  familiar  ac- 
quaintance with  the  fhepherd,  and  contract  hi^bits 
of  wildneis  by  which  it  might  endeavor  to  eluds 
the  fhepherd,  whofe  voice  now  becomes  its  terror. 
This  was,  in  fome  fort,  the  cafe  with  man  ;  fee 
Gen.  iii.  9,  lo.  ''And  the  Lord  God  called  unto 
Adam,  and  faid  unto  him,  where  art  thou  ?  And 
he  faid,  1  heard  thy  voice  in  the  garden,  and  I 
was  afraid-,  becaufe  1  was  naked ;  and  I  hid  my- 
feif."  This  yi^jr  was  not  the  offspring  of  correcl 
ideas,  but  of  that  deception  v/hich  fm  ^-iid 
wrought  in  his  mind.- 

In  a  ilmilar  manner  v.^e  may  reafon  on  the  fub- 
jccl  of  the  piece  of  iilver.  When  it  was  loft  it  was 
ilill  Iilver,  and  it  wus  the  property  of  her  who 
owned  the  other  nine.  It  is  true,  tills  piece  of 
iilver  mav  be  confidercd  as  having:  been  loft  in 
fuch  a  condition  that  it  might  lofe  its  brightnefs, 
contract  filth,  and  to  the  eye  of  a  fuperlicial  ob- 
ferver,  be  taken  for  fomething  f.cr  le's  valuable 
than  filver  ;  though  it  might  not  be  diiHcult  for  a 
more  clofe  infpector,  or  a  chymift,  to  determine 
its  properties  and  value. 

The  following  arc  a  few  of  the  many  fcripturcs 
which  corroborate  the  foregoing  ftatement.  Jer. 
1.  6.  "A/y  people  hath  httn  lojl  fieep  ;  their  fhep- 
iierds  have  caufed  them  to  go  allray,  they  have' 
turned  them,  awav  on  the  mountains :  thev  have? 
'    U2  ,.         ' 


2  J4  ^otes  on  the  ParaMeu 

gone  from  mountain  to  hill,  they  have  forgotten 
their  refling  place."  ii.  13.  ''¥ or  7ny  people  have 
committed  two  evils;  they  have  forfaken  me,  the 
fountain  of  living  waters,  and  hewed  them  out 
cifterns,  broken  ciiterns,  that  can  hold  no  water.'* 
Verfe  32.  ''  Can  a  maid  forget  her  ornaments,  or 
a  bride  her  attire  ?  Yet  my  people  have  forgotten 
mc  days  without  number.'*  Chap.  iv.  22.  "  For 
7ny  people  is  focUjh,  they  have  not  known  me  ;  they 
are  fottifh  children,  and  they  have  none  under- 
ftanding  ;  they  are  wife  to  do  evil,  but  to  do  good 
they  have  no  knowledge."  Chap.  viii.  7.  "  Yea 
the  ftork  in  the  heaven  knoweth  her  appointed 
times  j  and  the  turtle,  and  the  crane,  and  the 
fwallow,  obferve  the  time  of  their  coming  :  but 
my  people  know  not  the  judgment  of  the  Lord." 
Ifaiah  xix.  24,  25.  "  In  that  day  lliall  Ifrael  be  the 
third  with  Egypt  and  with  AlTyria,  even  a  bleiling- 
in  the  midft  of  the  land  ;  whom  the  Lord  of  hofts 
ihill  blefs,  Hiying,  Bleiled  be  Egypt  my  people^  and 
^^Jfy''i^  the  work  of  my  hands ^  and  Ifrael  mine  inheri- 
tance,''^ The  foregoing  quotations  are  fufficient  to 
fhow  that  God  owns  the  wicked,  the  alienated 
wandering  fons  of  men  to  be  his  people.  The  fol- 
lowing fhow  that  oar  Lord  or  owner  values  us  fo 
highly,  that  he  has  manifefted  his  determination 
in  reclaiming  us  from  fin.  Mat.  xviii.  11."  For 
the  fon  of  man  is  come  to  fave  that  which  was 
\^^.'**  Luke  xix.  lo.  "For  the  fon  of  man  is 
come  to  feek  and  to  fave  that  which  was  loft." 
St.  John  iii.  17.  "For  God  fent  not  his  fon  into 
the  world  to  condemn  the  world  ^  but  that  the 
world  through  him  might  be faved."  Chap.  x.  1 1. 
*^  1  am  the  good  fiiepherd  :  the  good  iliepherd 
giveth  his  life  for  the  flicep."  Verfe  16.  "  And 
other  flieep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  y 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  235 

them  alfo  I  maft  bring,  and  they  fliall  hear  my 
voice  ;  and  there  fhali  be  one  fold  and  one  fliep- 
herd."  Mat.  i.  21.  "  And  flie  fhall  bring  forth  a 
fon,  and  thou  (halt  call  his  name  Jcfus  ;  for  he  fhall 

fave  his  people  from  their  ft  s.'^  Here  it  is  neceflary 
to  {how  that  the  divine  purpofe  in  faving  man- 
kind from  fin,  is  manifefled  as  an  effecl  proceed- 
ing from  the  love  of  God  towards  ftnful  man.  St. 
John  iii.  16.  "  For  God  fo  loved  the  world,  that 
he  give  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whofoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  fhould  not  perilli,  but  have  ever- 
lading  life."  Rom.  iii.  8.  ''  But  God  comment.- 
eth  liis  love  towards  us,  in  that,  while  we  were 
yet  Tinners,  Chrift  died  for  us."  i  John  iv.  9,  10. 
"  In  this  was  manifefted  the  love  of  God  towards^ 
us,  becaufe  that  God  fent  his  only  begotten  Soa 
into  the  world,  that  we  might  live  through  him. 
Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that 
he  loved  us,  and  fent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitia- 
tion for  our  fins."  Eph.  ii.  4,  5.  "  But  God,  who 
is  rich  in  mercy,  for  his  great  love  wherewith  he 
loved  us,  even  when   we  were  dead  in  fms,  hath 

'  quickened  us  together  with  Chrifl  ;  ("By  grace  are 
ye  faved.")  Rev.  i.  5.  "  Unto  him  that  loved  us^ 
and  wailied  us  from  our  fins  in  his  own  blood." 
As  it  is  conceived  that  ample  proof  has  been  ad- 
duced to  fupport  our  firft  general  propoiition,  viz. 
Mankind,  though  in  a  ftate  of  alienation  from 
God,  in  a  ftate  of  fin  and  rebellion,  is  reprefented 
as  the  property  of  God,  and  by  him  fo  highly  ra- 
ted, as  induces  him  to  recover  our  nature  from 
alienation  and  fin,  we  may  proceed  as  w^as  propof- 
cd,  to  confider 

2d.  That  in  all  the  above  condition,  God  ac- 
knowledges man  to  be  his  offspring,  and  exercifes 
over  him  a  fatherly  provideuce,  and  towards  him 


ir36^  l^ofes  on  the  Parables, 

all  the  fatherly  affections  and  mercies.  This  pro- 
pofition  is  well  fupported  by  the  laft  of  thefe  par- 
ables. The  fon  who  left  his  father's  houfe  and 
went  into  a  far  country  was  no  lefs  2ifon  than  he 
who  flayed  at  home  ;  and  though  he  fpent  his 
fubflance  in  an  unjuflifiable  prodigality,  yet  he 
was  flill  -Bifon  ;  notwithftanding  he  was  reduced  to 
penury  and  want,  yet  he  was  2ifon  ;  although  he 
perlflied  with  hunger,  while  hired  fervants,  in  his 
father's  houfe,  had  bread  enough  and  to  fpare,  yet 
he  was  not  the  lefs  for  i\\is  a/on  ;  though  he  had 
fi«ned  againfl  heaven,  and  in  the  fight  of  his  fa- 
ther, and.  judging  him,  by  his  condud,  was  no 
more  worthy  to  be  called  his  fon,  yet  the  father 
fays,  "  T/jis  my  fon  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again  ;  be- 
was  lojl,  and  is  found, ^^ 

The  fatherly  providence,  exercifcd  over  the  pro- 
digal fon,  is  feen  in  the  indulgence,  in  the  Cril  in- 
ftance,  which  he  obtained  in  being  permitted  to 
go  from  home  ;  and  afterwards  being  fubjected  to 
an  imperious  neeeflity  of  returning  to  his  father, 
in  a  moil  penitent  manner.  The  famine  which 
arofe  in  the  hind  where  the  prodigal  was,  muft  be 
attributed  to  that  providence  whofe  eye  was  ever 
watchful  for  the  good  of  this  wanderer,  whofe  re- 
turn to  his  father  depended  on  his  wants  not  others- 
wife  to  be  fatisfied. 

Such  was  the  manner  in  which  a  divine  provi- 
dence brouglit  about  and  completely  fulfilled  the 
vifions  of  Jofeph  which  portended  the  humble 
ftate  into  which  his  brethren  fliould  be  brought, 
before  him  their  proteclor.  Neither  Jofeph  nor 
his  brethren  were  the  caufc  of  the  famine  which- 
caufed  thofe  fons  of  Jacob  to  go  down  to  Egypt, 
but  it  was  fent  by  that  divine  providence  which 
embraced,  as  an  objed:,  from  which  it  could  not 
be  diverted,  the  humility  of  Jofeph's  brethren. 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  237 

It  was  tiiis  famine  which  caufed  Judah  to  fay 
unto  his  father,  "  fend  tlie  lad  with  me,  and  we 
will  arife  and  go;  that  we  may  live  and  not  die, 
both  we,  and  thou,  and  alfo  our  little  ones.'*  It 
was  this  famine  which  reduced  Jacob  to  confent 
that  his  beloved  Benjamin  (hould  go  trom  him, 
faying,  "•  If'  I  be  bereaved  of  my  children,  I  am 
bereaved  *' 

The  fatherly  afFecllons  and  mercies,  exercifed 
towards  the  offspring  of  God,  are  reprefented  by 
the  reception  with  which  the  returning  prodigal 
was  blefled  of  his  father. 

In  the  room  of  being  indifferent  concerning  the 
return  of  his  fon,  the  father's  eye,  ever  on  the 
look-out,  fpies  hiai,  while  yet  a  great  way  oiT. 
Then  did  melting  compalTion  move  the  father,  ?^i\d 
he  ran,  and  fell  on  his  neck,  and  kiiTed  him.  Now 
a^  tokens  of  the  faiher^s  love,  are  brought  the 
bed  robe,  a  ring  and  Hioes  ;  and  the  deilituter 
ciiiid  is  clothed  in  the  mod  decent  manner )  the 
failed  calf  is  killed  by  the  fadier's  order,  and 
every  exprelii  ui  of  j  >y,  fuitaole  co  the  occalion, 
welcome  the  long  loft  fon  to  the  manfions  of  plenty 
and  peace. 

That  the  fcnptures  abundantly  fupport  the  idea- 
that  God  acknowledges  ftnners  to  be  his  children^ 
the  following  paiT^ges  fully  Ifioxv.  Ifaiah  i.  2,  3,  4, 
'*  Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give  ear,  ()  earth  j  for 
tlie  Lord  hach  ipoken :  1  have  nouriOied  and 
brought  up  chii..rcns  and  they  have  rebelled  againfl 
me.  The  ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  afs  his 
maker's  crib  :  but  Ifrael  doth  not  know,  my  people 
doth  not  confider.  Ah,  finful  nation,  a  people 
laden  with  iniquity,  a  feed  of  evil  doers,  children 
that  are  corrupters  !'  they  have  forfaken  the  Lord, 
they  have  provoked  the  holy  one  of  Ifrael  untsv 


«3S  I^otes  on  the  Parables* 

anger,  they  are  gone  away  backward."  Deutr 
xxxii.  6.  ''  Do  ye  thus  requite  the  Lord  ?  O  fool- 
iih  people  and  unwife  i  is  not  he  thy  father  that 
harh  bought  thee  ?  hath  he  not  made  thee,  and 
eftablifhed  thee?''  Mai.  i,  6.  A/on  honoreth  his 
father^  and  ^fervant  his  ma/ier  :  if  then  I  be  z  father y 
where  is  mine  honor  ?  and  if  I  be  a  ma^er^  where 
is  my  fear  t  laith  the  Lord  of  hofts  unto  you,  O" 
priefts,  that  dcfpife  my  name."  Chap.  ii.  lo. 
"  Have  we  not  all  one  father  ?  hath  not  one 
God  created  us  ?  Why  do  we  deal  treacheroufly, 
every  man  againft  his  brother ^h^^  profaning  the  co- 
venant of  our  fathers  ?"  Eph  iv.  6.  "  One  God 
and  father  of  all^  who  is  above  all,  and  through 
all,  and  in  you  all."  Mat.  vi.  9.  "  After  this  man- 
ner, therefore,  pray  ye  :  Our  father  which  art 
in  heaven;  hallowed  be  thy  name."  Verfe  12. 
"  And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our 
debtors."  Heb.  ii,  11 — ^15.  *' For  both  he  that 
fantliiieth  and  they  who  are  fanclified  are  all  of  one  ; 
for  which  caufe  he  is  not  afhamed  to  call  them 
brethren  ;  faying.^  I  will  declare  thy  name  unto  my 
brethren  ;  in  the  midft  of  the  church  will  I  fing 
praifes  unto  thee.  And  again,  I  will  put  my  truft 
in  him.  And  again,  behold  I  and  the  ehildren 
which  God  hath  given  me.  Forafmuch  then  ak» 
the  ehildren  are  partakers  of  flefli  and  blood,  he 
alfo  himfelf  likewife  took  part  of  the  fame;  that 
through  death* he  might  deftroy  him  that  had  thc^ 
power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil;  and  deliver 
them  who  through  fear  of  death,  were  all  their 
life  time  fubjed:  to  bondage." 

No  comments  a're  neceffary  to  make  it  evident 
that  the  moil  natural  fenfe  of  fuch  fcriptures,  as 
are  here  quoted,  goes  to  prove  the  propofition. 
lander  conuderation.     This  being  conceded,  notice 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  239 ' 

will  be  taken  of  our  third  propofition,  which  is, 
that  the  true  fpirit  of  chriftiaii  charity  rejoices  at 
the  bringing  of  finners  to  repentance. 

This  idea  is  not  only  fupported  by  the  applica- 
tion of  the  three  parables  here  illuflratcd,  but  is  in 
reality  the  foul  of  the  gofpel  fyftem.  To  bring 
.finners  to  repentance,  was  the  manifeft  objecl  of 
God*s  fending  his  fon  into  our  world  ;  he  was 
exalted  to  be  a  prince  and  a  Saviour,  to  give  repent- 
ance and  the  remljfion  of  fim  ;  the  miniftry  of  the 
gofpel  is  direded  to  this  end,  viz.  that  repentance 
and  remiilion  of  fins  Ihould  be  preached  among  all 
nations,  beginning  at  Jerufalem.  Ihis  fyftem  of 
gofpel  falvation,  is  a  fyftem  of  divine  benevolence, 
which  is  the  fpirit  of  heaven-born  charity.  Jefus 
fays,  Luke  v.  3a.  "I  came  not  to  call  the  righ- 
teous, but  finners  to  repentance."  This  is  the 
declared  objed  of  our  blefied  Saviour.  For  the 
fuccefs  of  this  work,  there  is  joy  in  heaven  ;  the 
angels  of  God  fee,  vA\\\  infinite  delight  and  fatif- 
fadion,  the  triumphs  of  the  crofs  extended  in  the 
repentance  of  fiiincrs.  1  hey  fee  the  kingdom  of 
darknefs  diminiihed,  the  power  of  fatan  more 
circumfcribcd,  the  unhappy  rebellion  of  mankind 
reclaimed,  fin  actually  finiihed  in  the  human  heart, 
the  firong  hc^lds  of  the  enemy  reduced  by  the 
power  of  divine  grace,  and  every  thought  of  the 
heart  brought  into  obedience  to  Chrift. 

Nothing  fhort  of  this  can  be  meant  by  repentance^ 
for  to  nothing  fhort  of  this  could  the  itvtit  of  the 
parables  be  juftly  applied.  A  loft  flieep,  found  by 
the  fliepherd,  reftorcd  to  the  fold  from  which  it 
wandered,  giving  joy  to  the  owner  j  the  finding 
of  a  valuable  piece  of  filver,  and  its  reftoration  to 
the  poiTcfiion  of  its  owncr,cau[ing  joy  to  her  who 
fo  highly  prized  the  trcafure  \  the  coming  home 


£4*  l^oies  on  the  Parables, 

of  a  long^bfent  prodigal  fon,  in  the  moft  liumHc 
manner,  to  his  father,  being  received  with  fuch 
marks  of  favor,  and  treated  fo  kindly,  and  the  joy 
infpired  by  the  occafion,  all  fhow,  in  the  moll 
lively  colors,  the  true  penitence  of  the  finner,  his 
happy  reception  into  the  enjoyment  of  favor,  and 
the  devoted nefs  of  his  heart  to  gofpel  obedience : 
while,  as  a  confequence  of  this  lalvaiion,  joys  un- 
fpeakable  abound  in  the  heart  of  ever  true  lover 
of  God. 

Contrafl  with  tliis  heavenly  theme  the  foul  chil- 
ling doctrine  of  eternal  rebellion  againft  the  ban- 
ner of  love,  and  fet  up  and  eftabliih  the  kingdom 
of  fatan  and  his  dominion  over  the  ofispring  of 
God,  then  afk  the  lovers  of  the  crofs  to  rejoice  in 
fuch  di'Cfrine,  what  heart  could  comply  ?  To  re- 
<|uire  a  fong  of  rejoicing  in  this  cafe,  would  be  to 
tantalize  the  deluded  captive  as  fet  forth  in  Pfalm 
cxxxvii.  I — 4.  "  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon  there 
wx  fet  down  ;  yea,  we  w^ept,  when  we  remem- 
bered Zion.  We  hanged  our  harps  upon  the  wil- 
lows in  the  midil  thereof.  For  there  they  that 
carried  us  away  captive  required  of  us  a  fong ;  and 
they  that  waflcd  us,  required  of  us  mirth,  laying, 
iing  us  one  of  the  fongs  of  Zion.  *  How  Ihall  w€ 
fmg  the  Lord^s  fong  in  a  ftrange  land."  Ihofe 
who  have  led  the  church  captive  into  Eabykm 
have  required  of  her  fongs,  and  thofe  who  have 
wafted  her,  have  required  of  her  mirth  ;  but  her 
harps  have  been  hung  on  the  willows  of  forrow 
and  file  has  wept  by  the  rivers  of  grief. 

But  Zion  fliaii  be  redeenicd  with  judgment,  and 
her  converts  with  righteoufnefs,  the  ranfomed  of 
the  Lord  fhall  return,  and  come  ur.to  her  with 
fongs,  and  everlafting  joy  upon  their  heads;  they 
fliall  obtain  joy  and  gladnefs,  and  forrow  and  %h- 
ing  ihali  flee  away. 


t^Gtes  on  the  T arables^  t4t- 

Let  us  allow  the  objeclor,  the  liberty  to  oppofc 
the  foregoing  arguments  by  flating  as  follows: 

ifl.  It  is  a  diflionor  to  God  to  argue  that  fin- 
ners  are  his  offspring. 

2d.  To  argue  that  God  loves  the  jfinner  as  his 
•offspring,  and  exercifes  a  fatherly  providence  over 
him,  and  all  the  fatherly  affections  and  mercies  to- 
wards him,  is  to  encourage  him  in  fin  and  rebel- 
lion againft  God.     And 

3d,  Such  arguments  fervc  the  unjuft  caufc  of 
exalting  the  wicked  in  his  own  eyes. 

Thefe  objections  are  conftantly  urged  by  thofe 
who  ffand  in  the  charader  of  the  pharifees  and 
fcribes,  who  are  zealous  to  defend  the  character  of 
their  God  againft  allfuch  difhonor,  and  are  equal- 
ly zealous  to  fet  the  wicked  in  a  low  diminutive 
Ipherc.  But  thefe  pharifees  zwdfcribes  are  blind  and 
infenfible  to  the  following  truths. 

ift.  If  it  be  not  allowed  that  fmners  are  the  off- 
fpring  of  God,  it  will  be  difficult  to  determine  in 
what  their  iinfulncfs  confifts  ;  for  they  muft  be 
the  offspring  of  God,  or  fome  other  being,  or  they 
muft  be  felf-exiflent.  If  they  be  the  offspring  of 
fome  other  being  than  God,  it  muft  be  proved 
that  they  have  difobeycd  this  being,  in  order  to 
prove  that  they  are  linners.  If  they  be  felf-exift- 
cnt,  they  are  not  accountable  to  any  being  but 
themfeK  es.  and  while  they  do  as  they  pleafe,  there 
is  none  to  Ihy,  what  doeft  thou  ? 

2d.  Thefe  blind  guides,  who  fuppofe  and  argue 
that  it  is  an  encouragement  to  the  finner  to  con- 
tinue in  fin,  to  argue  and  prove,  from  the  word  of 
God,  that  he  has  a  father  in  heaven  who  owns  him 
as  his  child,  and  exercifes  a  faiherly  providence 
over  hira,  and  all  the  fatherly  affeciions  and  mer- 
cies towards  him,  are  infenfible  and  blind  to  the 


24^  l^otes  on  the  Parables, 

facl,  that  they  themfelves  arc  the  wicked,  and 
ftand  juftly  condemned  for  the,  oniifTion  of  the 
weightier  matters  of  the  law.  They  are  alfo  blind 
to  that  divine  truth  fo  plainly  argued. in  the  fol- 
lowing fcriptures.  Rom.  ii,  4.  "  Or  defpifeft  thou 
the  riches  of  his  goodnefs,  and  forbearance,  and 
long  fufFering ;  not  knowing  that  the  goodnefs  of 
God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance/*  1  John  iv.  19^ 
*'  We  love  fiim,  becaufe  he  firft  loved  us." 

3d.  Their  prejudice  fo  blinds  them  that  they  do 
not  fee  that  the  argument,  that  the  fmner  is  the  ac- 
knowledged child  of  God,  is  fo  far  from  ierving  the 
"unjuft  caufe  of  exalting  the  wicked  in  his  own  ey^s, 
that  its  effects,  in  the  irind,  are  exactly  the  re- 
verfe.  Difobedience  to  a  kind  and  merciful  father 
is  furely  the  greateft  caufe  of  felf-abafement,  that 
can  be  imagined  ;  while  on  the  other  hand,  not  to 
allow  the  fmner  to  be  the  acknowledi^ed  child  of 
God,  is  to  abfolve  him  from  this  moft  humiliating 
ingratitude.  Could  thefe  pharijees  and  fcribes  but 
fee  the  glorious  truth  of  man's  relation  to  his 
heavenly  father,  as  that  truth  is  revealed  in  Chrift^ 
and  could  they  but  realize  the  univerfal  brother- 
hood of  mankind,  they  would  no  more  murmur 
becaufe  the  Saviour  receives  finners  and  eateih  with 
them,  they  would  no  more  be  angry,  becaufe  our 
heavenly  father  receives  the  returning  prodigal  ; 
nor  would  they  refufe  to  join  in  the  feftive  joys  of 
the  fatted  calf,  if  they  loved  their  brethren  of  the 
human  race,  as  they  do  themfelves. 


i 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  .243 

PARABLES  XXXVI,  XXXVII,  XXXVIII. 

*^  And  he  f.ud  alfo  unto  his  difciplcs,  There  was  a  certain  rich 
roan  which  had  a  fteward  ;  and  the  fame  was  accufed  unto 
him  that  he  had  wafted  his  goods.  And  he  called  him,  and 
faid  unto  him,  How  is  it  that  I  hear  this  of  thee  ?  give  an 
account  of  thy  ftewardftiip  ;  for  thou  mayeft  be  no  longer 
ftewatd.  Then  the  fteward  faid  within  himfelf,  What  (hall 
I  do?  for  my  lord  taketh  away  frone  me  the  ftewardOiip  : 
r  cannot  dig;  to  beg  I  am  afnamsd.  I  am  rdolved 
what  to  do,  that,  \yhen  I  am  put  out  of  the  flewardlhip, 
they  may  receive  me  into  their  hcufes.  So  he  called  every 
one  of  his  lord's  debtors  unto  him,  and  faid  unto  the  firft, 
How  much  oweft  thou  unto  my  lord?  arid  he  faid,  An 
hundred  meafures  of  oil.  And  he  fnid  unto  him,  Take  thy 
bill,  and  fit  down  quickly,  and  write  fifty.  Then  faid  he  to 
another,  And  how  much  oweft  thou  ?  and  he  Hid,  Aa 
hundred  meafures  of  wheat.  And  he  faid  unto  him,  Tak« 
thy  bill,  and  wrire  f^urfcore.  And  the  lord  commended 
the  u-ijuft  fteward,  becaufe  he  had  done  wifely  :  for  the 
children  of  this  world  are  in  their  generation  wifer  than  the 
children  of  light.  And  I  fay  unto  you,  Make  to  yourfelves 
friends  of  the  mammon  of  unrighteoufnefs  ;  that  when  ye 
fnil,  they  may  receive  you  into  everlafiing  hibitations.  He 
that  is  fjithful  in  that  which  is  leaft,  is  faiihful  alf)  in 
much:  and  he  that  is  unjua  in  the  leaft,  is  u  jaft  alfo  in 
much.  If  therefore  ye  have  not  been  f^iithful  in  the  ua. 
righteous  mammon,  vho  will  commit  to  your  iruft  the  true 
riches?  And  if  ye  have  not  been  fiithful  in  ihat  which  is 
another  man's,  who  fhallgive  you  that  which  is  your  own  ? 
No  fervant  can  ferve  two  mafters :  l.r  either  he  will  hate  the 
one,  and  love  the  other  ;  or  elfe  he  will  hold  to  the  one,  and 
dsfpife  the  other.     Ye  cannot  ferve  God  and  mammon." 

Luke  xvi.  i  — 14. 


*44  ^otes  en  the  Parables^ 

OUR  blefled  Lord  delivered  the  foregoing 
difcourfe  to  his  difgiples  in  hearing  of  the  phari- 
fees,  to  whom  he  had  been  difcourfing  in  the  pre- 
ceding  chapter.  And  it  appears  evident  that  he 
intended  to  delineate  the  real  charader  of  the  phar- 
ifees  and  fcribes,  ftanding  in  the  Jewifh  religion,  as 
he  had,  for  the  fake  of  a  query,  granted  them  a 
more  favorable  character  than  they  merited,  in  the 
former  chapter.  The  reader  will  do  well  to  take 
into  confideration  the  general  thread  of  difcourfe, 
eonnecling  the  parables  in  the  preceding  chapter^' 
and  the  fucceeding  parables  in  this,  with  the  one 
under  confideration,  by  which  the  following  notes, 
will  appear  jull. 

ift.  The  great  Lawgiver  who  defcended  upon^ 
Mount  Sinai,  and  gave  forth  the  tables  of  the  firft 
covenant  from  thence  to  Ifrael,  is  reprefented  in 
the  parable  by  a  lord  who  had  a  Reward. 

2d.  The  houfe  of  Ifrael,  to  whom  the  law  wai. 
given,  and  all  the  oracles  under  the  legal  difpenfa- 
tion  communicated,  is  meant  by  the  Reward. 

3d.  The  failure  of  the  Jews  in  not  keeping  the- 
law,  is  intended  by  the  fteward's  wailing  his  lordV. 
money  ;  and  the  allegation  which  lay  againft  them 
for  making  the  law  void  by  their  traditions,  is  fig- 
nified  by  the  fleward's  being  accvfed  to  his  lord. 

4th.  The  rejecting  of  the  Jews,  and  the  taking 
of  the  law  from  them,  in  refped  to  difpenfation, 
is  meant  by  the  Reward's  being  turned  out  of  his 
fiewardfhip. 

5th.  Chrift  fhows,  that,  in  natural  things,  an 
unjuft  fteward,  who  provided  for  himfelf,  by  be- 
ftowrng  his  lord's  property  on  his  debtors,  did 
more  wifely  than  the  Jews,  particularly  the  phari- 
fees,  whom  he  calls  the  children  of  light,  did  in 
things  of  God  and  religion  :  as  they  were  about 


Keies  on  the  Parables.  245 

to  be  turaed  out  of  their  ftewardfhip,  in  rcfpect 
to  the  law,  and  ordinances  thereof,  and  yet  rejecl- 
ed  their  Mefliah  and  his  gofpel,  the  only  means  of 
their  future  fafety  and  enjoyment. 

6th.  Chrift  reprefents  the  legal  difpe^nfation  and 
the  works  tiiereof,  by  the  mammon  of  unrigh- 
teoufnefs  ;  ihowing  that  the  ritual  righteoufnefs 
of  the  law  flood  in  comparifon  with  that  of  the 
gofpel  of  everlafting  life,  as  things  temporal,  to 
things  eternal.  And  under  this  reprefentation, 
he  exhorts  the  people  to  make  unto  themfelves 
friends,  by  im.proving  the  law  and  its  ordinances, 
fo  as  to  introduce  themfelves,  as  in  the  cafe  of  the 
wife  virgins,  to  the  everlafting  habitation  of  the 
bridegroom, 

7th.  If  they  were  perverfe  enough  to  make  "void 
the  law,  by  adopting  traditions  contrary  thereto  ; 
which  is  meant  by  their  being  unjufi:  in  that  vv^hich 
was  leafl,  and  unfaithful  in  the  unrighteous  mam- 
mon, and  in  the  things. of  another,  chey  would 
not  be  difpofed  to  make  any  better  ufe  of  the 
dodrine  of  the  gofpel  and  the  privileges  thereof, 
but  would,  in  violation  of  its  divine  purity,  fub- 
ftitute  their  ov/n  myjieriom  traditions^  gi^'irig  them 
the  fandion  of  divine  authority,  and  make  the 
gofpel  a  trade,  as  they  had  made  the  law,  (as  many 
people  have  done  to  v/hom  the  gofpei  lias  been 
preached)  which  is  meant  by  their  being  ztnj'j/i  in 
much;  which  deprived  them  of  the  privilege  of  the 
true  riches  which  were  verily  tlicir  ov/n.  'i  hii  clr- 
cumilance  is  very  fimilar  to  that  defcribed  in  tlie 
parable  of  the  one  talent ;  where  it  is  fhown,  that 
by  the  fervant's  not  improving  on  that  which  was 
another's,  he  was  deprived  of  any  further  privi- 
lege of  that  which  was  committed  to  his  care,  and 
AV  2 


246  Notes  on  fhe  Parables, 

failed  of  enlargement^  which  he  would  have  obtaih- 
cd,  had  he  been  faithful. 

8th.  Chrift  reprefents  the  fpirit  and  flefc,  by 
two  mailers,  God  and  mammon,  and  tells  them  that 
they  could  not  ferve  both ;  that  is,  while  they 
profeffed  to  ferve  the  law  only  in  the  letter,  under 
an  apprehenfion  of  juftification  thereby,  they  were 
not  in  the  fervice  of  God;  and  the  righteoufnefs 
acquired  thereby,  would  not  be  acceptable.  There- 
fore the  pharifees,  who  "  heard  all  thefe  things,** 
being  full  of  fpiritual  pride  and  covetoufnefs,  "  de- 
rided him."  But  Chrift  replies,  concerning  their 
highly  efteemed  juftification,  and  declared  it  to  be 
abomination  in  the  fight  of  God. 


**  Whofoever  putteth  away  hh  wife,  and  marrieih  another, 
committeth  adultery  ;  and  whofoever  marrieth  her  that  U', 
put  away.  from. her  huftand,  committeth  adultery." 

Luke  xvi«   iS. 

Thefe  words  are  here  evidently  ufe4  paraboli- 
cally,  by  which  the  propriety  of  the  preceding 
words  is  fliown,  and  the  fucceeding  parable  iatro- 
duced.  In  verfes  16  and  17,  Chrift  continuing  his 
reply  to  the  pharifees,  fays,  "The  law  and  the 
prophets  were  until  John  ;  fince  that  time  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  preached,  and  every  man 
preffeth  into  it.  And  it  is  eafier  for  heaven  and 
earth  to  pafs,  than  one  tittle  of  the  law  to  fail/' 
It  is  evident  that  the  general  thread  of  difcourfc 
is  continued,  which  has  for  its  fubje<^  the  putting 
away  of  the  law,  and  the  introdudion  of  the  gof- 
pel,  and  the  confequences  arifing  to  the  Jews  on 
their  rejecting  the  Saviour,  agreeable  to  which, 
the  following  notes  are  written  : 


Notes  on  the  Parables^  ^^ 

rft.  As  a  man's  putting  away  his  wife  and  mar- 
rying another,  was  coniidered  adultery  ;  lb  to  put 
away  the  law  difpenfation,  and  marry  to  the  gof- 
pel,  before  the  law  was  every  tittle  fulfilled,  blend- 
Hig  law  and  gofpel,  in  point  of  difpenfation,  is 
confidered  fpiritual  adultery  ;  an  adultery  of 
which,  it  is  to  be  feared,  multitudes  of  profefled 
c-hriftians  are  guilty,  by  endeavoring  to  conneA 
the  law  of  works  with  the  lav/  of  faith  ;  and  not 
being  experimentally  dead  to  the  law  by  the  body 
of  Chrift,  they  commit  the  above  mentioned  adul- 
tery by  profeifing  to  be  married  to  him  who  arofc 
from  the  dead. 

2d.  As  it  was  counted  adultery,  for  a  man  to 
put  away  his  wife,  and  marry  another  ;  fo  for  a 
man  to  marry  a  woman,  who  had  been  put  away 
from  her  hulband,  was  coniidered  adultery.  By 
which,  I  learn  ;  after  the  law  was  fulfilled,  and,  as 
a  difpenfation,  put  away,  for  the  Jews  ftill  to 
marry  to  the  law,  would  be  fpiritual  adultery  ;  an 
adultery  of  which  the  Jews  are  guilty  even  to  this 
day. 

I  now  come  to  the  third  and  laft  parable  in  this 
chapter,  by  which  the  particular  fubie(5l  on  v/hich 
I  have  been  writing,  feeir.r.  to  be  clcfed.  In  order 
for  the  reader  to  make  no  niiilake  in  this  parable, 
an  attention  muft  be  paid  to  the  adultery  laft  de- 
fcribed. 

♦♦There  was  a  certain  rich  man,  v?hich  ',r;i3  clothed  in  purpU 
and  fine  linen,  and  fared  luaiptuoufly  every  d.^y.  And 
there  was  a  certain  beggar  namevi  Lazarus,  which  was  laid 
at  his  gate,  full  of  fores,  and  defir ir.g  to  be  fed  with  the 
crumbs  which  fell  frona  the  rich  noan's  table  :  moreover, 
the  dogs  came  and  licked  his  fores.  And  it  came  to  pafs, 
Uiat  the  beggar  died,  and  was  carried   by   the  angels  into 


2-48  ■■  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

Abraham's  boforo :  the  rich  man  alfo  di^^^  and  was  buried. 
And  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments,  and 
feeing  Abraham  afar  oft,  and  Lazarus  in  his  bofom.  And 
he  cried,  and  faid,  Father  Abraham,  have  mercy  on  me, 
and  fend  Lazai us,  that  he  may  dip  the  lip  cf  his  finger  in 
water,  and  cool  my  tongue  ;  for  I  am  tormented  in  this- 
flame.  But  Abraham  faid,  Son,  remember  that  thou  in  thy. 
life  time  received.1  thy  good  things,  and  likewife  Lazarus 
€vil  things :  bat  nov/  he  is  comforted,  and  thou  art  tor- 
mented. And,  befides  all  this,  between  us  and  you  there  is 
a  great  gulf  fixed  %  fo  that  they  which  would  pafs  from 
hence  to  you  cannot  |  neither  can  they  pafs  to  us,  that 
would  come  from  thence.  Then  he  faid,  I  pray  thee  there- 
fore, father,  that  ihoa  wouldft  fend  him  to  my  father's 
houfe  ;  for  I  have  five  brethren  5  that  he  may  teftify  unto 
them,  left  they  alfo  come  into  this  place  of  torment.  Abra- 
ham faith  unto  him,  They  have  Mofes  and  the  prophets  ; 
let  them  hear  them.  And  he  faid,  Nay,  father  Abrdham  ;. 
but  if  one  went  unto  them  from  the  dead,  they  will  repent. 
And  he  faid  unto  him.  If  they  hear  not  Mofes  and  the 
prophets,  neither  will  they  bs  perfuaded  though  one  rofe 
from  the  dead.*'  Lure  xvi.  19— 3F. 

The  reader,  by  obferving  thofe  precautions  re- 
commended in  the  introduction  of  the  above  par- 
able, will  fee  the  propriety  of  the  following  notes  : 

I  ft.  The  high  pridft,  under  the  law,  is  repre- 
fented  by  a  rich  man,  whofe  clothing  was  purple 
and  fine  linen,  a^  garment  which  God  com- 
manded Mofes  to  put  upon  Aaron,  the  firft  high- 
prieft.  And  as  a  portion  of  the  facrifices  belonged 
to  thofe  who  adminiftered  at  the  altar,  his  fare 
was  every  day  fumptuous  ;  and  his  riches  confift- 
ed  in  the  righteoufnefs  of  the  law. 

2d.  The  gentiles  are  fignified  by  a  beggar,  who 
lay  at  the  rich  man's  g2Ac^  full  of  fores,  defiring^ 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  tA(^ 

to  be  fed  with  the  crumbs  which  fell  from  tlie 
rich  man's  tabky  having  refpecl  to  the  tables  o^Jioney, 
on  which  the  oracles  of  God  were  written.  In- 
JiruEtlons  from  thofe  oracles,  are  reprefented  by 
crumbs  falling  from  a  table  ;  which  inftruclion* 
the  gentiles  enjoyed  not,  under  that  difpenfation. 
And  thofe  ancient  philofophcrs  of  the  gentiles, 
who  endeavored  to  cure  the  moral  infirmities  of 
their  diiciples,  and  to  lead  them  i.i  the  path  of 
moral  righteouihefs,  are  reprefented  by  dogs,  lickp 
ing  the  fores  of  a  beggar. 

3d.  By  the  death  of  the  beggar,  I  undcrdand 
the  converfion  of  the  gentiles  to  chriftianity, 
Cliriil  having  clofed  the  law  difpenfation,  and  in- 
troduced the  gofpel  of  falvation  preached  to  Abra- 
ham by  Jehovah  hirnfelf,  v/ho  faid,  "  In  thee  fhall 
all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blefled/'  The 
gentiles  being  children,  and  heirs  of  that  promifc, 
received  "  the  uniearchable  riches  of  Chrift  ;*' 
which  caufed  them  to  die  to  all  the  life  they  be- 
fore pofleired.  They  died  to  all  their  gods  and' 
idolatrous  worfliip,  and  were  carried  by  the  apojlles 
of  Jefus  into  Abraham's/^;//? ;.  v/hich  is  reprefented 
by  angels*  carrying  Lazarus  into  Abraham's  bofom» 

4th.  By  the  death  of  the  rich  man,  I  underftand 
the  clofe  of  that  difpenfation  which  gave  him  all 
the  pre  eminence  which  he  enjoyed  above  the  beg- 
gar under  the  law.  And  his  not  being  alive  to 
the  gofpel,  being  dead  in  the  fin  of  the  adultery 
before  defcribed,  was  in  a  fit  fituation  for  burial, 
in  which  he  differs  from  the  beggar,  as  the  death 
which  Lazarus  died  did  not  admit  of  a  burial. 
The  high  priefl's  being  clofed  up  in.  the  earthly 
character  and  nature^  is  fignified  by  his  being 
kuried. 


2^Q  Notes  on  the  Parahla* 

5th.  His  lifting  up  his  eyes  in  hell,  being  tor- 
mented in  flames,  reprefents  a  conviction  of  the 
condemning  power  of  the  law,  and  the  ragings  of 
that  fire  reprefented  by  the  fire  on  Sinai  at  the 
giving  of  the  law,  and  by  the  flaming  appearance 
of  the  firft  flone  in  his  breaftplate 

6th.  The  rich  man's  feeing  Abraham  afar  off, 
and  Lazarus  in  his  bofom,  is  the  fulfilment  of  the 
words  ot  Chrift  to  the  pharifees,  ''  Ye  fhall  fee 
them  come  from  the  eafi:,  and  from  the  weft,  and 
from  the  north,  and  from  the  fouth,  and  fit  down 
with  Abraham,  Ifaac  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom 
of  God,  but  you  yourfelves  caft  out  :**  By  which 
was  intended  the  converfion  of  the  gentiles  to  the 
faith  of  Abraham,  Ifaac  and  Jacob  j  and  the  rejec- 
tion of  the  houfe  of  Ifracl. 

7th.  That  the  rich  man  was  a  defcendant  from 
Abraham,  and  that  he  ftood  in  need  of  the  favorr 
which  Lazarus  enj(n'ed.  1  learn  by  the  rich  man's 
calling  Abraham  Father,  and  praying  that  Laza- 
rus might  be  fen t  to  his  relief:  To  which,  Abra- 
ham replies,  (icknowledging  him  his  ion)  ''Son, 
remember  that  thou  in  thy  life-time  receivedft 
thy  good  things,  and  likewife  Lazarus  evil  things  : 
but  now  he  is  comforted,  and  thou  art  torment- 
ed ;"  having  allufion  to  their  different  circum- 
ftances,  under  different  difpenfations.  Abraham 
obferves  further,  that  between  him  and  the  rich 
man,  there  was  a  great  gulph  fixed  :  fo  that 
thofe  who  would  go  from  Abraham  to  the  rich 
man,  could  not  ;  and  thofe  who  would  come 
from  the  rich  man  to  Abraham,  could  not.  By 
this  gulph,  1  underftand  that  divine  purpofe 
of  God,  communicated  by  Chrift,  who  faid, 
''  Henceforth,  your  houfe  is  left  unto  you  defolate, 
and  ye  fhall  not  fee  me  until  you  fliall  fay,  Bleifed 


l^otes  on  the  Parables.  ^51 

is  he  who  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  The 
fame  thing  is  meant  by  Paul  to  the  Romans,  which 
I  have  before  quoted,  "  1  would  not  have  you  ig- 
norant, brethren,  of  this  myftery,  left  ye  fhould 
:  be  wife  in  your   own  conceits,  that  blindnefs,  in 
.part,  hath    happened  to  Ifrael  until  the  fulnefs  of 
the  Gentiles   be   come  in."     By  thefe  paifages,  I 
underftand,  that,  it  was   the   purpi)fe  of  infmite 
.  wifdom,  that  there  fliould  be  atinre,  in  v/hich  the 
.  Jews,  who  rejected  the  Saviour,  ihould  wander  in 
^  darknefs  and  dcfolation,  and  by  no  means  what- 
ever be  brought  to  fee  the  Saviour  until  that  time 
is  elapfed.  By  thofe.who  are  in  Abraham's  bofum 
.  defiring  to  go  to  the  rich  man,  I  underftand  the 
,  defire  of  the  Gentile   believers  of  going  to    the 
apoftate  Jev/s  with  the  gofpel  of  falvation  which 
they  rejecl.     And  the  wifh  of  thofc  who  are  with 
the  rich  man  to  go  to  Abraham,  lignifies  the  long- 
ings of  the  Jews  for  the  fulfilment  of  thofe  pro- 
niiies  made  to  Abraham  concerning  a  Meffiah. 
8th.  By  the  rich  man's  five  brethren,  in  his  fa- 
:  ther's  houfe,  is   meant   that  part  of  the  houfe  of 
Ifrael, which,  in  a  former  parable,  was  reprefented, 
by  five  foolilh  virgins.   Mofes  was  the  rich  man  s 
_  legal  father  ;  and  the   difpenfation   of  law   his  fa- 
ther's teyc*.  Thofe  Jews,  therefore,  who  comnjit- 
ted  the  adultery   to  v/hich  1  have  before  alluded, 
as  did  the  high  prieft,  continued  under  the  law 
of  works.     For  thofe  the  rich  man  prays,  that 
Lazarus  might  go  to  perfuade  them  to  the  accep- 
tance of  the  golpel,  before  they  fliould  open  their 
eyes  to  all  the  torments  which  he  felt  in  a  llatc  of 
conviction.     But  Abraham  anfwers,  "  They  have 
Mofes  and  the  prophets  ;  let  -them  hear  them  :" 
Arguing,  that  while  they  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
law  and  the  prophets,  it  would  be  of  no  avail  to 


252  I<Gies  en  the  Parables. 

fend  one  from  the  dead  ;  by  which  is  meant,  owt 
poflelTed  of  the  knowledge  of  the  gofpel,  being 
dead  as  before  defer! bed. 

The  reader  will  obferve  the  parable  beginning  at 
the  1 2th  verfe  of  the  19th  chapter,  and  learn  its 
Bfieaning  by  comparing  it  with  the  parable  of  the 
talents  in  the  twenty-fifth  of  Matthew.  This  para- 
ble points  to  the  deftrudion  of  the  Jews  particu- 
larly, fee  verfe  27.  "  But  thofe  mine  enemies, 
which  would  not  that  I  fliould  reign  over  thenij 
bring  hither,  and  flay  rhem  before  me."  Com- 
pared with  verfes  43,  44.  "  For  the  days  lliall 
come  upon  thee,  that  tliine  enemies  (hall  caft  a 
trench  about  thee,  and  compafs  thee  round,  and 
keep  thee  in  on  every  iide,  and  fhall  lay  thee  even 
with  the  ground,  and  thy  children  within  thee-; 
and  they  ihall  not  leave  in  thee  one  ftone  upon  an- 
other :  becaufe  thou  kncweft  not  the  time  of  thy 
vifitation." 

No  wonder,  prfeU  humanity  w^cpt  over  Jerufa- 
lem,  when  viewing  the  dreadful  calamities  which 
were  immediately  coming  upon  the  ancient  peo- 
ple of  God,  in  confequencc  of  their  abufing  the 
many  bleflings  and  privileges  which  the  Lord  be- 
llowed upon  an  ungrateful  people. 

I  clofe,  afking,  do  the  fciiptures  any  more  tol- 
erate thofe  nations  who  have  made  void  the  gof- 
pel, tlirough  their  traditions,  than  the  J::ws,  for 
abuling  the  law. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

As  the  Saviour  concluded  the  lall  parable  in  the 
15th  chapter  with  the  pathetic  adchefs  of  the  tather 
to  the  angry  fon,  fo  in  the  fucceeding  three  para- 
bles he  alludes  to  the  fame  general  fubject  ;  the 
whole  of  which  may  be  clearly  feen,  by  beginriing 
the   i5.th  chapter  and  reading,  with  attention  to 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  i^j 

the  conclufion  of  the  i6th.  By  thus  conneclino- 
this  difcourfe,  as  it  evidently  ought  to  be,  XW'o 
valuable  ends  are  anfwered. 

ift.  The  true  application  of  thefe  parables  15 
obtained,  and, 

2d.  The  ufual  method  of  treating  the  parable 
of  the  rich  man,  appears  to  be  nothing  relative  tu 
the  fubjecl  on  v/hich  the  Saviour  was  treating. 

With  a  view  to  difpofe  this  general  fubjecl  fcj 
that  the  mind  may  find  an  eafy  accefs  to  its  vari- 
ous parts,  the  following  method  will  be  obferved  : 

I  ft.  The  difpenfation  of  the  firft,  or  legal  prieft- 
hood,  will  be  iliuftrated  by  the  fimilitude  of  a 
flewardfhip,  as  dated  in  the  firft  paragraph  of  this 
16th  cf  St.  Luke. 

2d.  The  diflblution  of  the  legal  priefthood,  with 
fome  attendant  circumftances,  all  which  are  repre- 
fented  by  the  diflolution  of  a  marriage  covenant, 
as  ftated  in  the  i8tk  verfe  of  this,  chapter,  will  be 
noticed. 

5d.  The  miferableilate  of  moral  darknefs  and 
death  into  which  the  order  of  high  priefts  under 
the  law,  and  thofe  of  the  houfe  of  Ifrael  who  ad- 
hered to  thofc  blind  guides,  were  caft,  will  be 
ihown,  as  is  reprefented  under  the  fimilitude  of  a 
rich  man,  his  death,  and  his  circuniftance  after,  as 
ftated  in  the  Lift  paragraph  of  this  chapter. 

4th.  The  introdudion  of  tlie  gentiles  to  the 
knowledge  and  fiiith  of  the  gofpel,  will  be  feen,  as 
in  the  notes,  by  the  fimilitude  of  a  beggar,  carried 
by  angels,  after  his  death,  into  Abraham's  bofom, 
«s  ftated  in  the  fame  paragraph.     And, 

5th.  That  the  ftate  of  the  high  priefts,  and  that 
part  of  Ifrael  who  were  broken  off  through  unoe- 
lief,  ought  not  to  be  confidered  as  hopelefs,  v/iil 
be  fliown  by  the  fcriptures. 
X 


254  Notes  on  the  Parables* 

ift.  This  flewardiliip  of  the  miniftry,  under  the 
iirft  prieflhood,  may  be  confidered  as  figurative  of  ; 
the  Itewardlliip  of  the  miniftry  of  the  gofpel,  with 
the  fame  propriety  that  the  priefthood  of  the  law 
is  underftood  to  be  a  figure  of  the  priefthood  of 
Chrift.  The  ftev/ardfhip  of  the  gofpel  miniftry 
is  noticed  in  the  following  paffages.  i  Cor.  iv.  i, 
2.  '*  Let  a  man  fo  account  of  us  as  the  minifters 
of  Chrift,  and  ftewards  of  the  myfteries  of  God, 
Moreover,  it  is  required  in  ftewards  that  a  man 
be  found  faithful/'  Titus  i.  7,  8,  9.  "For  a  biihop 
inuft  be  blamelefs  as  the  fteward  of  God  ;  not  felf- 
wLiled,  not  foon  angry,  not  given  to  v/ine,  no 
ftriker,  not  given  to  fikhy  lucre;  but  a  lover  of 
hofpitality,  a  lover  of  good  men,  fcber,  juft,  holy, 
temperate ;  holding  faft  the  faithful  word  as  he 
Bath  been  taught  ;  that  he  may  be  able,  by  found 
doctrine,  both  to  exhort  and  to  convince  the  gain- 
fayers.''  1  Peter  iv,  10.  ''As  every  man  hath 
received  the  gift,  even  fo  miniftcr  the  lame  one 
to  another,  as  good  ftewards  of  the  manifold 
grace  of  God.'** 

TIere  we  fee  what  the  minifters  of  the  gofpel 
are  ftewards  of.  They  ^.x^Jlewards  of  the  mjjt.erks 
of  God,  and  thefe  myjleries  are  the  7n  am  fold  grace  of 
God :  So  was  the  ftewardfliip  of  the  mjniftry  of 
the  legal  priefthood,  in  which  was  difpenfed  the 
knowledge  of  the  myil:eries  of  life.  See  Llal.  ii. 
4 — 7.  '*  And  ye  fiiall  know  that  I  have  fent  this 
commandment  unto  you,  that  my  covenant  might 
be  with  Levi,  faith  the  Lord  of  hofts.  My  cove- 
nant was  with  him  of  life  and  peace  ;  and  I  gave 
them  to  him  for  the  fear  whierewith  he  feared  me, 
and  was  afraid  before  my  name.  The  law  of 
truth  was  in  his  mouth,  and  iniquity  was  not 
found  in  his  lips :  he  walked  with  me  in  peaccj 


I 


Notes  on  the  Parables,  255- 

and  equity,  and  did  turn  many  away  from  iniqui- 
ty.    For  tiie  prieft's  lips  (Iiould  keep  knowledge, 
and  they  fhould  feek  the  law  at  his  mouth  ;  tor 
he  is  the  meilenn^er  of  the  Lord  of  hods/'     Com- 
pare  this  pailage  from  the  prophet  with  Num.  xxv. 
12,  13.  ''  Wherefore  (liy,  Behold,  I  give  unto  him 
my  covenant  of  peace  :  and  he  fhall  have  it,   and 
his  feed  aher  him,  even  the  covenant  of  an   evcr- 
lafting  priefthood ;  becaufe  he  was  zealous  for  Lis 
God,  and  made  an  atonement  for  the  children  of 
Id'ael."     Witliout  any  more  quotaiions,  we  niay 
clearly  fee  that  theftewarddiip  of  the  legal  prieft- 
hood coiiiilled  in  being  in  poireflion  of  a  co-venant 
of  life  and  peace^  in  preferving.  ibe  div'mc  knowledge  of 
ibis  life  and  pc- ace ^  and  i :  convnu^ucutlng  it  to  ihc  pe^ple^ 
turning  them  from  iniquity^  and  in  making  atonement  fr 
their  fins,     'fhis   covenant   of  life   and  peace,  was 
fuch,  becaufe  it  was  a  figure  of  a  better  covenant, 
mentioned  i-Ieb.  viii.  6.  ''  But  now  hath   he  ob* 
tained  a  more  excellent  mdniftry,  by  how   much 
alfo  he  is  the  micdiator  of  a  better  covenant,  which 
was    eilabliihcd    upon    betier    promifes.'*       Ihe 
priefthood  of  the  law  had  power  to  make  an  atone- 
ment  for   fm   in   a   figurative  fenfe,  for  the  high 
prieft,  under  the  firil  covenant,  was  an  eminent 
reprefenti^tive  of  the  great  Apoftle  and  High  Pricfl 
of  our  chriftian  profeiTion  ;  the  facrifices  for  fin, 
under  the  law,  were  reprefemations  of  him   wlio 
was  made  a  fin  offering  for  us,  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteoufnefs  of  God  in  him.     St.  Paul, 
fpcaking  of  thofe  priefts,  fays,  "Who  ferve   unto 
the  example  Tind  Jhadozu  of  heavenly  things,''     Again, 
Meb.  V.  £,  2.  '' For  every  high  prieft  taken  from 
among. men  is  ordained  for  men  in  rhir:g5  pertain- 
ing to  God,  that  he  may  oiler  both  gifth  and  iac- 
riiices  for  fms  j  who  can  have  compafiion  on  the 


2^6  Notes  071  the  Parables, 

ignorant,  and  on  them  that  are  out  of  the  way  ;; 
for  that  iie  himfelf  alfo  is  compafTed  with  infirmi- 
ties."    Chap.  iv.  15.  "  For  we  have  n(t)t  an  high 
pr'ieji  which  cannot  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
our  infirmities,  but  was  in  all  poiats  tempted  like 
as  we  are,  yet  without  fm."      Thus  we  fee  that 
the  priefthood  under  the  law,  being  a  fliadow   of 
the  priefthdod  of  Chrift,  was,  in  the  hands  of  thofc 
high  priefts,  a  ftewardfliip,  like  as  the  miniftry  of 
the  gofpel  was  in  the  hands  of  the  apoftles  of  the- 
Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away   the  fm  of  the  - 
world.     And  it  is  in  reference  to  this  firft  prieft- 
hood  that  the  apoftles  are  called  "  priefls  unto- 
God  and  the  Lamb." 

Having  this  clear  view  of  the  flewardfhip  In 
which  the  high  priefts  flood,  it  is  eafy  to  fee  how 
the  fervices  of  that  fliadowy  difpenfation  ought  to 
have  been  improved  to  introduce  thofe  flewards. 
and  the  people,  to  the  everlafting   habitation   of 
that  covenant  which  was  reprefented  by  the  firft. 
But  the  high  prieft,  under  the  law,  is  reprefented, 
by  a  Reward  who  was  accufed  to  his  lord  in  the 
fimilitude  of  having   walled    his    lord's    money. 
This  accufation  has  the   following  fupport.      See. 
ip  the  2d  of  Malachi,  fucceeding  the  former  quota^/ 
tion  from,  that  chapter.  Verfes  8,  9,  10.  "  But  ye 
ai'e  departed  out  of  the  way  ;  ye  have  caufed  many 
tp  ftumble  at  the  law  \_  ye  hav.e  corrupted  the  cove- 
nant of  Levi,  faith  the  Lord  of  hofls.  Thereforehave 
I  alfo  made  you  contemptible  and  bafe  before  all  the 
people,  according  as  ye  have  not  kept  my  ways,, 
but  have  been  partial  in  the  law."     See  in  the  10th, 
verfe,  the  query  with  which  the  prophet  oppofes 
their  partiality.     "  Have  we  not  all  one   father  ? 
hath  not  one  God  created  us  ?  Why  do  we  deal 
tr.eacheroufly  every  man  a^ainfl  his  brother,  bj, 


J 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  257 

profaning  the  covenant  of  our  fathers?  "  Jer.  xxiii. 
11,12.  ""  For  both  prophet  and  priefl:  are  profane  \ 
yea,  in  mine  houfe  have  I  found  their  wickedneis, 
f.iith  the  Lord.  Wherefore  their  ways  ihall  be 
U'^^'o  then:i  as  llippery  ways  in  thedarknefs;  they 
ihali  be  driven  on,  and  fall  therein,  for  I  will 
bring  evil  upon  them,  even  the  years  of  their  vilit- 
ation,  faith  the  Lord."  Compare  this  with  Mat. 
xxi,  12,  13.  "And  Jefus  v/ent  into  the  temple  of 
God,  and  cafl  out  all  them  that  fold  and  bought 
in  the  temple,  and  overthrew  the  tables  of  money- 
changers, and  the  feats  of  them  that  fold  doves, 
and  faid  unto  them,  it  is  written,  my  houfe  fliall 
be  called  the  houfe  cf  prayer  5  but  ye  have  made 
it  a  den  of  thieves." 

2d.  The  diffolution  of  the  legal  priefthood  is 
figniiied  by  the  parable  recorded  in  the  18th  verfe 
of  this  1 6th  of  St.  Luke.  This  will  appear  evident 
if  we  confider  the  thread  of  difcourfe  into  which 
this  parable  was  introduced.  Obferve  the  i6th 
and  \j'i\\  verfes,  by  which  the  parable  and  its  true 
application  may  be  underftood.  "  The  law  and 
the  prophets  were  until  John :  fince  that  time  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  preached,  and  every  man  pref- 
feth  into  it.  And  it  is  ealicr  for  heaven  and  earth 
to  pafs,  than  one  tittle  of  the  lav/  to  fail/'  To  fiiov/ 
the  propriety  of  what  he  ftated  in  this  teftimony 
concerning  the  law,  its  fulhiment,  and  of  its  infalli- 
bility, Jefus  makes  ufe  of  the  following  parable  : 
*'  Whofoever  putteth  away  his  wife,  and  marrieth 
another,  committeth  adultery  :  and  whofoever 
marrieth  her  that  is  put  aw:iy  from  her  hufoand, 
committeth  adultery."  The  reader  may  now  turn 
an  eye  to  the  notes,  where  this  parable  is  particu- 
larly app  led.  What  fecms  neceflary  now  to  con- 
fider is,  how  this  law  was  fuliilied,  and  as  a  dilben- 
X2. 


25 S  Ncies  on  the  Parables* 

fation,  put  away.  See  Mat.  v.  17,  18.  "THink: 
not  that  I  am  come  to  deftroy  the  law,  or  the. 
prophets :  I  am  not  come  to  deftroy,  but  to  fulfil. 
For  verily  1  fay  unto  you,  till  heaven  and  earth 
pafs,  one  jot  or  one,  tittle  fliall  in  no  wife  pafs  fronv 
the  law.,  till  all  be  fulfilled/' 

It  was  with  reference  to  the  fulfilment  of  thc; 
rites  of  the  law  that  Jefus  was  baptized  ©f  Johng. 
the  account  of  which  we  have  in  Mat.  iii.  13,  14, 
15.  "  Then  came  Jefus  from  Galilee  to  Jordan  un- 
to John  to  be  baptized  of  him.     But  John  for-, 
bade  him,  faying,  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of. 
thee^  and   comell  thou    to  me  ?     And  Jefus  an- 
fwering,  faid  unto  him,  fufFer  it  to  be  fo  now  :  for 
thus   it   becometh   us  to  fulfil  all  righteoufnefs. 
Then  he  fuffered  him."     The  prophet  in  the  40th 
Pfalm  points   to  our  fubje^l  in  very  plain  and  ex- 
preffive  terms,  fee  verfes  6,  y,  8.  "  Sacrifice  and. 
offering  thou  didft  not  defire  ;  mine  ears  haft  thou 
opened  ;  burnt,  offering  and  fin  offering  haft  thou 
not  required.     Then  faid  I,  Lo,  I  come  :  in  thc. 
volume  of  the  book  it  is  w-ritten  of  me,  I  delight 
tp  do  thy  will,  O  my  God  :  yea,  thy  law  is  with- 
in my  heart."     St.  Paul  applies  this  fcripture  to. 
Chrift  in  fuch  a  way  as  to  make  the  fubjed  under 
Qonfideration  evidently  clear.     See  Heb.  x.  4 — 10. 
"  For  it  is  not  poffible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  and., 
of  goats  fliould  take  away  fins.     Wherefore,  when . 
he  Cometh  into  the  world,   he  faith,  facrifice  and 
offering  thou  wouldeft  not,  but  a  body  haft  thou, 
prepared. me  :Jn  burnt  offerings  and  facrifices  for 
fin  thou  haft  had  no  pleafure  :  then  faid  I,  Lo,  I 
come  (in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of. 
me)  to  do  thy  wdll,  O  God.     Above,  when  he  faid,^ 
facrifice,  and  offering,  and  burnt  offerings,  and  of- 
ferings for  fin,  thou  wouldeft  not,  neither,  had.ft. 


Woies  on  the  Parables,  259: 

pleafure  therein  ;  (which  are  offered  by  the  law  ;) 
then  faid  he,  lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  O  God- 
He  taketh  away  the  firft,  that  he  may  eftablifh  the 
fecond.  By  the.  which  will  \\t  are  fanclified, 
through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jefus  Chrift, 
once  for  all."  See  alfo  chap,  vii.  18,  19.  "  For 
there  is  verily  a  difannulling  of  the  command- 
ment going  before,  for  the  weaknefs  and  unpro- 
iitablenefs  thereof.  For  the  law  made  nothing 
perfed,  but  the  bringing  in  of  a  better  hope  did  j 
by  the  which  we  draw  nigh  unto  God."  This 
apoftle  has  expreffed  the  fame  thing  in  a  fimilitude 
like  the  one  in  the  i6th  of  Luke.  See  Rom.  vii. 
1 — 4.  "  Know  ye.  not,  brethren,  (for  I  fpeak  to 
them  that  know  the  law)  how  that  the  law  hath 
dominion  over  a  man  as  long  as  he  liveth  ?  For 
the  woman  which  hath  an  hufband  is  bound  by 
the  law  to  her  kufband  fo  long  as  he  liveth  :  but 
if  the  hulband  be  dead,  flie  is  loofed  from  the  law 
of  her  hufband.  So  then,  if  while  her  hufband 
liveth,  file  be  married  to  another  man,  fhe  fhall  be. 
called  an  adulterefs  :  but  if  her  hufband  be  dead,, 
Ihe  is  free  from  the  law  ;.  fo  that  fhe  is  no  adul- 
terefs though  fhe  be  married  to  another  man. 
Wherefore,  my  brethreji,  ye  alfo  have  become  dead 
to  the  law  by  the  body  of  Chrifl ;  that  ye  fhould 
be  married  to  another,  even  to  him  who  is  raifed 
from  the  dead,  that  we  fliould  bring  forth  fruit 
unto  God."  As  in  the  words  of  Chrift,  fo  in 
thefe  of  the  apoflle  is  fhown,  that  to  put  away  the 
law  while  its  priefthood  was  alive,  and  marry  to 
another  would  be  adultery.  Chrifl  reverfes  the 
fubjed  and  fays,  "  And  w^hofoever  marrieth  her 
that  is  put  away  from  her  hufband,  committeth. 
adultery."  The  apoftle  fays,  as  above  quoted^ 
*^  My  brethren,  ye  are  become  dead  to  the  law  hji 


26©  -  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

the  body  of  Chrlft  ;  thit  ye  fhould  be  married  "t#' 
another/'     The  bodyoi  Chrift,  of  which  it  is  laid, 
aJ'^/y  haft  thou  prepared  sue,  cor^tained  the  end, 
and  tuifilinent  of  the  whole  ritual  pricfthood,  fo 
that  the  oiiering  of  that  body  once  for  all,   /ifan*' 
nulled^  as  the  apoftles  term  is?,  the  priefthood  ot  the ' 
law,  and  delivered  tlie  people,  who  were  folemnly 
married  to  it,  from  tnat  utarriage  covenant,  fo  that 
they  were  free  from  the  law  oF  their  former  huf- 
band,  and  at  liberty  to  marry  to  a  ri fen  Saviour. 
As  is  fhown  in  the  notes,  the  iaft  adultery  fpoken 
of  by  Chrift,  was  that  of  marrying  to  the  legal 
covenant   after  it  v/as  put  away.     This   adultery- 
was  com.mitted  by  the  high  priefts  and  their  dif- 
ciples,  who  had  loft  the  knowledge  of  what  thofe 
rites   reprefented,  and  were  zealoufly  attached  to 
the  letter  of  the  law,  feeking  righteoufnefs  and 
falvation  by  it.     This  brings  us  as  was  propofed 
to  confider, 

3d.  The  miferabie  ftate-of  moral  darknefs  and 
death  into  which  the  order  of  high  priefts  under 
the  law,  and  tbofe  -of  the  houfe  of  Ifrael,  who  ad- 
hered to  thofe  blind  guides,  were  caft.  This  is 
reprefented  in  the  Lift  paragraph  of  the  16th  of 
Luke,  by  the  death  of  a  rich  man,  as  the  notes 
plainly  ffiow. 

Conceiving  that  the  notes  on  the  fubjecl  of  the 
rich  man  and  Lazarus  are  fuillciently  explicit  in' 
refpe6l  to  the  application  of  the  parable,  a  more 
general  vievi' of  the  fubjecl  will  be  taken  by  recur- 
ring to  other  fcriptures  illuftrative  of  this  ftate  of 
moral  darknefs  and  condemnation,  St.  Paul  fpei^ks 
of  tliis  fubject  in  Rom.  ix.  31,  32,  2)2)'  "  ^^^ 
Ifrael  which  followed  after  the  law  of  righteouft 
nefs,  hath  not  attained  to  the  law  of  righteoufnefs, 
Wherefore?  becaufe  they  fought  it  not  by  faith. 


l^otes  on  the  Parables,  26 1 

but  as  it  were  by  the  works  of  the  law  ;  for  they 
ftumbled  at  that  ftumbhng  ftone  ;  as  it  is  written. 
Behold,  1  lay  in  Siou  a  ftumbling  ftone,  and  rock 
of  offence  :  and  whofocvcr  believeth  on  him  fliall 
R-ot  be  afhamed."  Thus  they  failed  in  making 
unto  themfelves  friends  of  the  rites  of  the  firft 
priefthood,  becaufe  they  expected  to  attain  to  the 
law  of  righteoufnefs,  by  thofc  literal  ferviccs, 
while  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law  were  omit- 
ted, which  are  judgment,  mercy  and  faith.  St. 
Paul  notices  the  fubjecl  fomething  largely  in  the 
nth  of  Romans,  fee  vcrfe  7,  "What  then  ?  Ifrael 
hath  not  obtained  that  which  he  feeketh  for  ;  but 
the  eledion  hath  obtained  it,  and  the  reft  were 
blinded**'  Here  the  apoftle  refers  to  Ifaiah  vi.  9, 
10.  "  And  he  faid,  go,  and  tell  this  people,  hear 
ye  indeed,  but  underftand  not  ;  and  fee  ye  in- 
deed, but  perceive  'not.  Make  the  heart  of  this 
people,  fat,,  and  make  their  ears  heavy,  and  fhut 
their  eyes  ;  leaft  they  fee  with  their  eyes, 
and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  underftand  with 
their  heart,  and  convert,  and  be  healed."  Jere- 
miah defcribes  the  wickednefs  of  the  priefts, 
prophets  and  people  as  follows,  fee  chap.  v. 
.verfe  23.  "  But  this  people  hath  a  revok- 
ing and  a  rebellious  heart  ;  they  are  revolted  and 
gone;  27 — 31.  "  As  a  cage  is  full  of  birds,  fo 
are  their  houfes  full  of  deceit ;  therefore  they  are 
become  great  and  waxen  rich.  They  are  waxen 
far,  they  fliine  ;  yeaj  they  overpafs  the  deeds  of 
tjie  wicked:  they  judge  not  the  caufe,  the  caufe 
of  the  fatherlefs,  yet  they  profper ;  and  the  right 
of  the  needy  do  they  not  judge.  Shall  I  not  vifit 
them,  for  thefe  things  ?  faith  the  Lord  :  Shall  not 
ray  foul  be  avenged  on  fuch  a  nation  as  this  ?  A 
wonderful  and  horrible  thing  is  committed  in  the 
llLjid  y  the  prophets   prophecy   falfely,    and   thei 


*6^2  Notes  on  the  Parables^ 

priefts  bear  rule  by  their  means ;  and  my  peopl® 
love  to  have  it  fo :  and  what  will  ye  do  in  the 
end  thereof?''  Thefe  Prie/ls  vvho  bore  rule  by  means 
of  the  falfe  prophets.  Vv^axed/?/  and  become  rich  ; 
they  devoured  widov/'s  houfcs,  and  for  pretence 
made  long  prayer. 

Here  is  the  rich  man  who  v.'as  clothed  in  pur- 
ple and  fine  linen  and  fared  fumptuouHy  every 
day,  who  did  not  judge  the  right  of  the  needy, 
and  on  whom  our  Saviour  pronounced  "  the 
greater  damnation/' 

The  reader  will  fee  that  the  fubjed  on  which 
we  are  now  laboring  has  already  been  coiuldera- 
bly  difcuiled  in  the  illuftrations  of  notes  on  the 
25th  of  Matthew,  where  particular  attention  was 
paid  to  the  24th  and  23d  chapters,  with  a  view 
to  fhow  the  general  connexion  of  thofe  chapters, 
and  their  fulfilment.  Ill  the  23d  Jefus  pronounc- 
ed on  his  enemies,  whom  he  calls  a  generation  of 
vipers,  the  damnation  of  hell.  This  damnation  is 
defcribed  in  St.  John  iii.  19,  "  And  this  is  the- 
condemiuation,  that  light  is  come  into  the  world, 
and  men  loved  darknefs  rather  than  light,  becaufe 
their  deeds  were  evil."  J^fi^  was  the  light,  his 
preaching  and  doctrine  was  particularly  directed 
againft  the  church,  which  had  the  high  pried  at 
its  head,  who  was  furrounded  by  pharifees  and 
fcribes,  of  whom,  the  prophet  Jeremiah  faid,  as 
above  quoted,  "  they  overpafs  the  deeds  of  the 
wicked."  They  had,  by  their  traditions,  eftablifli- 
ed  criteria  by  which  they  diftinguiflied  between 
the  righteous  and  the  wicked.  Thofe  who  con- 
formed to  the  traditions  of  the  elders,  were  righ- 
teous ;  but  thofe  who  did  not,  were  accurfed  ;; 
and  it  was  then  as  cailom.ary  to  talk  of  u'f  righteous^ 
%iidJbey  wicked,  as  it  is  now  in  the  anticbrijiianchurcbv' 


J^otes  on  the  P arables »  263 

But  as  it  is  now,  fo  it  was  then  \  thofe  who  ac- 
counted themfelves  to  be  righteous,  overpaiTed,  in 
iniquity,  the  deeds  of  thofe  whom  they  called 
wicked. 

Here  is  feen,  not  through  a  glafs  darkly,  but  as 
face  anfwers  to  face  in  water,  tiie  reafon  why  the 
Jewifli  church  rcje^led  Chrifl,  and  alfo  why  the 
antichriftian  church  of  the  prcfent  day  does 
the  fame.  Jcfus  was  accufed  by  the  Jcwifh 
church  of  being  a  friend  to  publicans  and  finners, 
and  this  is  the  prefent  accufadon  which  is  urged 
by  the  antichriflian  church.  Ihe  judgments,  of 
God  on  the  antichriftian  church  are  fet  down,  as 
has  been  noticed  in  a  former  part  of  this  woj:k,  in 
Rev.  xvlii.  And  for  a  full  account  of  the  judg- 
ments of  God  on  the  Jewifli  church,  "the  reader  is 
referred  to  Lev.  xxvi.  out  of  which  a  number  of 
paffagcs  are  here  fet  down  v/ithout  particular  re- 
ference to  verfes.  "  I  alfo  v/ill  do  this  unto  you  ; 
I  v/ill  even  appoint  over  ycu  terror,  confunVption, 
and  the  burning-ague,  that  fhali  confume  the 
eyes,  and  caufe  forrow  of  heart  :  and  ye  (hall  fow 
your  feed  in  vain  ;  for  your  enemies  Hiall  eat  it. 
And  I  v/ili  fet  my  face  againfl  you,  and  ye  fliall  be 
{lain  before  your  enemies;  they  that  hate  you 
Ihall  reign  over  you  ;  and  ye  fiiall  fiee  when  none 
purfueth  you.  I  will  break  the  pride  of  your 
pov/er  ;  and  I  will  make  your  heaven  as  iron,  and 
your  earth  as  brafs.  And  your  ftrength  {hall  be 
Ipent  in  vain  :  for  your  land  fhall  not  yield  her 
increafe,  neither  fliall  the  trees  of  the  land  yield 
their  fr.uits.  And  I  will  bring  a  fword  upon  you, 
that  fhall  avenge  the  quarrel  of  my  covenant ;  and 
when  ye  are  gethred  together  within  your  cities, 
I  Will  fend  the  peftilence  among  you  ;  and  ye  fliall 
be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.     I,  even 


:254  Notes  on  the  Pafdbfes. 

I,  will  chaflife  you  feven  limes  for  your  fins.  And 
7e  fhall  eat  the  flefli  of  your  fons,  and  the  flefh  of 
your  daughters  fhall  yc  eat.  And  I  will  deftroy 
your  high  places,  and  cut  down  your  images,  and 
caft  your  carcafes  upon  the  carcafes  of  your  idols, 
and  my  foul  fhall  abhor  you.  And  I  will  make 
your  cities  wafte,  and  bring  your  fancluaries  unto 
defolation,  and  I  will  not  fmell  the  favor  of  your 
fweet  odors.  And  I  will  bring  the  land  into  defo- 
lation,  and  your  enemies  which  dwell  therein  Hiail 
be  aftonifhed  at  it.  And  I  will  fcatter  you  among 
the  heathen,  and  will  draw  out  a  fword  after  you  ^ 
and  your  land  Ihall  be  defolate,  and  your  cities 
wafire.  And  upon  them  that  are  left  alive  of  you, 
I  will  fend  a  faintnefs  into  their  hearts  in  the  land 
of  their  enemies,  and  the  found  of  a  fhaken  leaf 
fliall  chafe  them ;  and  they  fiiall  flee,  as  fleeing 
from  a  fword  ;  and  they  iliall  fall  when  nane  pur- 
fueth.  And  they  fliall  fall  one  upon  another,  as  it 
were  before  a  fword,  when  none  purfueth  ;  and  ye 
fliall  have  no  power  to  fl:and  before  your  enemies* 
And  ye  fliall  perifli  among  the  heathen,  and  the 
land  of  your  enemies  fliall  eat  you  up.  And  they 
that  are  left  of  you  fliall  pine  away  in  their  iniquity 
in  your  enemies^  lands ;  and  alfo  in  the  iniquities 
of  their  fathers  fliall  they  pine  away  with  them.'* 
The  iniquitous  condudl  of  this  wicked  church, 
and  God's  judgments  upon  it,  is  fpoken  of  in 
Pfalm  Ixix.  18 — 28.  "  Draw  nigh  unto  my  foul, 
and  redeem  it :  deliver  m.e  becaufc  of  mine  ene- 
mies. Thou  haft  known  my  reproach,  and  my 
fliame,  and  my  diflionor :  mine  adverfaries  are  ail 
before  thee.  Reproach  hath  broken  my  heart, 
and  I  am  full  of  heavineis  :  and  I  looked  for  fome 
to  take  pity,  but  there  was  none ;  and  for  com- 
iorters,  but  I  found  none.  They  gave  me  alfo 
gall  for  my  meat,  and  in  my  thirfl  they  gave  m« 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  265 

vinegar  to  drink.  Let  their  table  become  a  fnare 
before  them  :  and  that  which  fliould  have  been 
for  their  welfare,  let  it  become  a  trap.  Let  their 
eyes  t)e  darkened,  that  they  fee  not,  and  make 
their  h)ins  continually  to  fnikc.  Pour  out  thine 
indignation  upon  them,  and  let  thy  wrathful  an- 
ger take  hold  of  them.  Let  their  habitation  be 
defolate,  and  let  none  dwell  in  their  tents.  For 
they  perfecuted  him  w^hom  thou  liafl  fmitten  ; 
and  they  talk  to  the  grief  of  thofe  whom  thou 
haft  wounded.  Add  iniquity  to  their  iniquity  ; 
and  let  them  not  come  into  thy  righteoufnefs. 
Let  them  be  blotted  out  of  the  book  of  the  living, 
and  not  be  written  with  the  riirhteous.'*  Time 
Avould  fail  to  mention  all  the  paffiges  of  fcripture 
\vhich  relate  to,  and  point  out  the  Hate  of  moral 
darknefs  and  death  into  which  the  Jcwifli  church 
w^as  caft  at  the  clofe  of  the  firft  priefthood  ;  the 
fr,regoing,  in  connexidti  with  fcriptures  and  argu- 
ments on  the  fame  fubjecl,  ufed  in  the  illuflrations 
of  foregoing  parables,  perhaps  are  fufllcient.  And 
truly,  if  the  damnation  of  hell  confifts  in  the  dark- 
nefs,  blindnefs,  punifliments  and  fufferings  above 
defcrlbed  by  Mofcs  and  David,  no  wonder  Jcfus 
wept  over  that  people  on  whom  he  pronoiiixcd. 
i'lch  terrible  coiidemnation. 

4th.  As  was  propofcd,  a  few  fcriptures  on  tl-e 
fubjefl  of  the  introduction  of  the  gentiles  to  tlie 
kiiowiedge  and  fiith  (jf  the  gofpel,  will  novv'  he 
confidered.  Of  this  the  prophet  iiaiah  fpe;iks  ^-n 
a  moll  beautiful  manner,  chap.  "xllx.  6.  "And  he 
•faid,  art  thou  I'ghfcr  than  that  thou  fnouldcfi  Ik  nu'  /[■•* 
vant.  to  ra'ife  up  the  tribes  of  Jacobs  and  to  re  ft  0:  a  the 
defolation  of  Jfracl  P  I  ivill  alfo  ^ive  thee  for  a  Jhght  ta 
the.  gentiles y  that  thou  r!iay( ft  be  juj  Julvalicn^njUo  tijf 
md  of  the  earth  J* 


266  Notes  on  the  Parables, 

The  above  paflage  is  here  quoted  from  the  mar- 
ginal  reading,  as  it  feems  more  proper  to  put  the 
firft  part  of  the  text  in  the  form  of  a  queftionj.than 
of  an  afTertion,  and  the  word  defo^ation^  feems  more 
applicable  to  the  fubjed:  of  rejioring^  than  the  word 
preferred.  See  chap.  xlii.  6,  7.  "  I  the  Lord  have 
called  thee  in  righteoufnefs,  and  will  hold  thine 
hand,  and  will  keep  thee,  and  give  thee  for  a  cov- 
enant of  the  people,  for  a  light  of  the  gentiles  ;  to 
open  the  blind  eyes,  to  bring  out  the  prifoners 
from  the  prifon,  and  them  that  fit  in  darknefs  out 
of  the  prifon  houfe.'*  Amos  ix.  1 1,  12.  "In  that 
day  will  I  raife  up  the  tabernacle  of  David  that  is 
,fallen,  and  clofe  up  the  breaches  the/ecf;  and  I 
will  raife  up  his  ruins,  and  I  will  build  it  as  in  the 
days  of  old  :  that  they  may  poffefs  the  remnant 
of  Edom,  and  all  the  heathen,  which  are  called  by* 
my  name,  faith  the  Lord,i.hat  doeth  this." 

This  paflage  from  Amos  is  quoted  by  the  apof- 
tle  James,  in  the  15th  chapter  of  the  Ads  of  the 
Apoilles,  applied  to  thefe  words  ofFeter:  "Men 
and  brethren,  ye  know  how  that  a  good  while 
ago  God  made  choice  among  us,  that  the  gentiles 
by  my  mouth  Ihould  hear  the  word  of  the  gofpel, 
and  believe.  And  God,  which  knoweth  the 
hearts,  bear  them  witnefs,  giving  them  the  Holy 
Ghofl,  even  as  he  did  unto  us  ;  and  put  no  differ- 
ence between  us  and  them,  purifying  their  hearts 
by  faith."  Tiie  paflage  quoted  from  the  49th  of 
Ifaiah,  St.  Paul  quoted  in  Ads  xiii.  47.  "For  fo 
liath  the  Lord  commanded  us,  faying,  I  have  fet 
tliee  to  be  a  light  of  the  gentiles,  that  thou  ihould- 
efl:  be  for  falvation  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth/' 
Jfaiah  Ixii.  2.  "  And  the  gentiles  fhaii  fee  thy  righ- 
teoufnefs,  and  all  kings  thy  glory."  Chap.  Ix.  3. 
"  And  the  gentiles  fliall  come  to  thy  light,  and 


"Notes  on  the  Parables.  l^j 

kings  to  the  brightnefs  of  thy  rifing."  Chap.  liv. 
3.  "  For  thou  fhalt  break  forth  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left ;  and  thy  feed  Ihall  inherit  the 
gentiles."  Thefe  few  pafiages,  from  the  niariy 
which  fpeak  of  the  £ime  fuhjecl,  fhow  that  the 
pontiles,  who  were  reprefented  by  a  beggar 
Without  the  rich  man's  gate,  were  carried  by  tlie 
apoftles  of  the  Lamb,  into  the  faith  of  Abra*{iam, 
which  is  reprefented  by  Abraham's  bofom.  fhe 
hofom^  figniiying  fatherly  love  and  faithfulnefs,  is  a 
beautiful  reprefentation  of  the  covenant  mcrdes 
into  which  the  believinot  crentiles  were  received. 
See  this  fubjecl:  as  reprefented  by  wSt.  Paul  to  the 
Galatians,  iii.  7,  8,  9.  "  Know  ye^  therefore,  that 
they  which  are  of  faith,  the  fame  r,-ve  the  children 
ef  Abrahanu  And  the  fcriptures,  forefeeing  t'n.U 
God  would  juftify  the  heathen  through  faithj 
preached  before  the  gofpel  unto  Abraham,  faying, 
in  thee  fliall  all  nations-be  blefled.  So  then  they 
which  be  of  faith  ate  bleffed  with  faithful  Abra=» 
ham."  See  verfe  14.  "  That  the  bleffing  of  Abra- 
ham might  come  on  the  gentiles  through  Jefus 
Chrift ;  that  we  might  receive  the  promiie  of  the 
fpirit  through  faith.  It  is  flud,  in  the  parable,  that 
the  rich  man  faw  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus 
in  his  bofom.  Very  far  indeed !  The  moral  dif- 
tance  between  the  ffate  in  which  we  have  feen  the 
Jewilh  church,  and:  that  in  which  we  have  feen 
the  gentile  church  of  believing  chriilians,  is  very 
great,  and  aftonifliingly  different.  The  ftate  of 
the  former  is  that  of  v\^retchednefs  in  the  extreme, 
while  that  of  the  latter  is  in  the  fame  ratio  glorious. 
k  remains  that  we  fliow,  as  was  propofed, 
5th.  That  the  ftate  of  the  high  prielfs,  and  that 
part  of  Ifrael  who  were  broken  off  through  unbe- 
lief, ought  not  to  be  confidered  as  hopelels.     Tliis 


2  68  J^otes  on  the  Parables* 

rich  man  has  been  generally  confidered  as  fome  j 
individual  perfon,  known  to  our  Saviour,  who- 
was  very  covetous  and  unfeeling  in  his  life  time, 
who  literally  died  and  went  to  a  flate  of  mifery  in..  | 
a  future  world,  from  which  mifery  there  never 
can  be  any  deliverance.  This  account  is  alfo  miade 
general  uie  of  to  prove  the  common  doctrine  of 
the  endlefs  mifcries  of  the  wicked  who  die  with- 
out faith  in  Chrifl:.  It  is  hoped,  however,  t'hat 
t!ie  notes,  together  with  the  foregoing  illuftration,, 
fct  this  matter  in  a  very  different  light  to  the  un- 
prejudiced mind  ;  and  Ihow,  in  too  phin  a  man- 
ner not  to  be  underftood,  that  our  .^aviour  was 
difcouriiiig  on  no  fuch  fubjtct  as  this  palTiioe  is 
general!);  applied  to.  Having  found  fliti^factoiy 
reafons  for  applying  the  parable  of  tlie  rich  man 
to  tlie  Jewifli  church,  in  mariner  ard  form  as  fct 
forth  in  the  ncjtes,  and  the  foregoing  i'lullraiions, 
tlie  prefent  ohjccl,  as  above  lialed^  is  to  fliow, 
from  the  fcripturcs,  that  that  church  is  not  left 
in  a  hopelefs  condition.  Labors  on  this,  iubjecl 
may  properly  be  directed  to  fliow, 

I  ft.  That  nothing  in  the  denunciations  of  Mo- 
fes,  recorded  in  the  26th  of  Leviticus,  can,  with 
the  lead  propriety,  be  explained  fo  as  to  exclude 
that  people  eternally  from  the  divine  favor ;  and, 

2d.  Ihat  the  fcriptures  do,  in  a  direcl  and  pofi- 
tive  mianner,  infure  lis  the  joyful  hope  for  vWiick 
we  are  now  feeking. 

ift.  Of  the  denunciations  recorded  in  the  26th 
of  Leviticus.  Let  it  be  firft  noticed  that  the  pun- 
iiliments  there  recorded,  are  not  only  faid  to  be 
for  the  fins  of  that  people,  but  according  to  thtlr  fms. 
See  verfe  18.  "  And  if  you  will  not  for  all  this 
hearken  unto  m,e,  then  I  will  punifh  you  feven 
times  moxQ  for  your  fms''     Verfe  2.1.,  "  Ai^d  if  y« 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  26 g 

walk  contrary  unto  me,  and  will  not  hearken  unto 
me,  I  will  bring  {even  times  more  plagues  upon 
you,  according  to  yourjins.*'  Let  it  be  alked  in  the 
next  place,  what  thole  punlfliments  were  ?  Anfwer. 
Terror,  confumption,  burning  ague,  lofs  of  har- 
veft  by  the  enemy,  being  ilain  by  their  enemies, 
ruled  by  their  enemies,  they  Ihould  flee  when 
none  purfued,  the  pride  of  their  power  was  brok- 
en, their  heav^en  was  as  iron  and  their  earth  as 
brafs,  they  fliould  fpend  their  ftrength  in  vain 
through  the  barrenneCs  of  their  land,  their  chil- 
dren and  their  cattle  were  to  be  deilroyed  by  wild 
bcafts,  their  highways  were  to  be  deiblate,  a  fword 
Ihould  be  brought  upon  them  which  iliould  avenge 
the  quarrel  of  God's  covenant,  the  peflilence 
fiiould  be  fent  among  them,  they  fliould  be  deliv- 
ered into  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  for  want  of 
bread  they  fliould  eat  and  not  be  fatisfied,  they 
fliould  eat  the  fleih  of  their  fons,  and  the  flefli  of 
their  daughters,  their  high  places  and  images 
Ihould  bedeftroyed,  their  carcafes  fliould  be  cafr 
upon  the  carcafes  of  their  idols,  their  cities  flioujd 
be  made  wafte,  their  fancluaries  fliould  be  brought 
intO'  defolation,  their  lands  fliould  be  brought 
into  defolation,  their  enemies  fliould  dwell  in 
their  land,  they  fliould  be  fcattered  among  the 
heathen,  a  fword  fliould  be  drawn  out  after  thenij 
on  them  who  were  left  alive  a  faintnefs  ihould  be 
fent  even  into  their  hearts,  the  found  of  a  fliaken 
leaf  fliould  chafe  them,  they  fliould  fall  when  none 
purfued,  they  fliould  faU  one  upon  another,  us  it 
were  before  a  fword,  they  fliould  peri fli  among 
the  heathen,  the  land  of  their  enemies  fliould  eat 
them  up,  they  fliould  pine  away  in  their  iniquity 
in  their  enemies'  land,  and  in  the  iniquities  of 
thadr  fathers  they  fliould  pine  away.  Let  us  flate 
Y  2 


27©  Notes  on  the  Parables » 

here  two  queftions.  ift.  Is  it  polTible  to  conceive 
of  any  punifhment  more  dreadful  than  the  fore- 
going, to  which  mortal  beings  in  this  flate  of  ex- 
iftence  are  fubjecl  ?  and,  2d.  Is  it  poflible  to  con- 
ceive that  any  or  a^l  of  thefe  punidiments  will  be 
inflicted  on  that  people,  or  any  other,  in  a  future 
ftate,  and  to  all  eternity?  Thefe  queflions  will  be 
anfwcred  in  the  negative  by  all  candid  perfons. 
What  then  is  the  neceilkry  concluiion  ?  Anfwer. 
If  thefe  puniffiments  were  for  the  fins  of  that  peo- 
ple, were  according  to  their  lins,  and  fufficient  to 
avenge  the  quarrel  of  God*s  covenant,  then  it  is 
certain  beyond  all  contradidion,  that  the  iins  of 
that  people  did  not  deferve,  not  in  the  eyes  of 
God,  who  is  the  proper  judge,  never  ending  pun- 
ifhment in  the  eternal  world  ;  nor  will  God  have 
an  occadon,  in  order  to  avenge  the  quarrel  of  his 
covenant  with  that  people,  to  quarrel  with  them 
to  all  eternity.  The  form  of  expreiTion  here  ufed, 
though  rather  harfh,  is  juftified  by  the  facred  text, 
and  it  being  well  calculated  to  fhow"  the  nature  of 
the  fubjecl  in  a  very  evident  light,  is  admitted. 
That  all  thefe  judgments  do  not  render  the  flate 
of  that  church  hopelefs,  may  be  feen  by  noticing 
the  remainder  of  this  chapter.  See  from  the  40th 
verfe  to  the  clbfe.  "  If  they  fhall  confefs  their 
iniquity,  and  the  iniquity  of  their  fathers,  with 
their  trefpafs  which  they  trefpaffed  againft  me,  and 
that  alfo  they  have  walked  contrary  unto  me  ;  and 
that  I  alfo  have  walked  contrary  unto  them,  and^ 
have  brought  them  into  the  land  of  their  enemies  ; , 
if  then  their  uncircumcifed  hearts  be  humbled, 
and  they  then  accept  of  the  puniflmient  of  their 
iniquity  :  then  will  I  remember  my  covenant  with 
Jacobj  and  aifo  my  covenant  with  Ifaac,  and  alfo 
my  covenant  with  Abraham  will  I  remember  ;  and 
I  will  remember  the  land.     The  land  alfo  fliall  be 


1 


l^otes  on  the  Parables,  ±yi 

left  of  them,  and  fiiall  enjoy  her  Sabbaths,  while 
flie  lieth  defolate  without  them  :  and  they  fhall  ac- 
cept of  the  punilhment  of  their  iniquity  ;  bccaufe, 
even  becaufe  they  defpifed  my  judgments,  and  be- 
caufe  their  foul  abhorred  my  ilatutes.  And  yet  for 
all  that,  when  they  be  in  the  land  of  their  ene- 
mies, I  will  not  cafl  them  away,  neither  will  I  ab- 
hor them,  to  deftroy  them  utterly,  and  to  break 
my  covenant  with  them  :  for  I  am  the  Lord  their 
God.  But  I  will  for  their  fakes  remember  the  cov- 
enant of  their  anceftors,  whom  I  brought  forth 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  in  the  fight  of  the  hea- 
then, that  I  might  be  their  God.  I  am  the  Lord. 
Thefe  are  the  ftatutes  and  judgments,  and  laws, 
which  the  Lord  made  betweenhim  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Ifrael  in  mount  Sinai,  by  the  hand  of  Mo- 
fes."  The  Lord  God,  the  God  of  Abraham,  Ifaac 
and  Jacob  had  the  whole  management  of  the  fore- 
going covenant,  laws,  ftatutes  and  judgments,  and 
by  them  will  judge  his  people  ;  he  will  fee  the 
whole  faithfully  executed  j  but  he  is  under  no  ob- 
ligation to  forget  his  covenant,  or  to  become  un- 
merciful at  the  inftigation  of  unmerciful  men. 
Here  let  us  hear  the  declaration  of  Stephen.  See 
A6ls  vii.  51 — 54.  "  Ye  ftiff-necked,  and  uncir- 
cumcifed  in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  always  refift 
the  Holy  Ghoft :  as  your  fathers  did,  fo  do  ye. 
Which  of  the  prophets  have  not  your  Withers  per- 
fecuted,  and  they  have  llain  them  which  fhewed 
before  of  the  coming  of  the  juft  one  ;  of  whom  yc 
have  been  now  the  betrayers  and  murderers  :  who 
have  received  the  law  by  the  difpofition  of  angels, 
and  have  not  kept  it.  When  they  heard  theft 
things  they  were  cut  to  the  hearty  and  they  gnafhed 
on  him  with  their  teeth."  They  now  faw  their 
dreadful  ftate,  they  felt  the  force  of  thofe  words 


272  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

of  Stephen  and  could  not  withftand  ir,  they  knew 
his  tefciinony  was  true,  therefore  it  cut  them  to 
the  hciirr.  They  had  received  the  law,  but  had 
not  kept  it,  s.rid  the  judgments  written  were. 
againft  tbem.  On  them  Jefus  had  pronounced  the 
dair. nation  of  heii  ;  but  let  it  be  noticed  that  Je- 
fus pronounced  on  them  nothing,  which  was  not 
written  in  their  law  y  as  a  faithful  judge,  to  whom 
all  judgment  was  committed,  he  would  not  go 
beyond  the  ilatvvtes  and  judgments  of  his  father. 

But  it  is  time  to  confider, 

2d.  1  hat  the  fcriptures  do,  in  a  direct  and  pofl- 
tive  manner,  infure  us  the  joyful  hope  for  which 
we  are  now  feeking.  See  Ifaiah  xlv.  25.  *'  In  the. 
Lord  fh all  all  the  feed  of  Iirael  be  jufiified,  and  fliall 
glory."  See  how  this  teflimony,  fo  direclly  to- 
the  point  in  queftion,  is  introduced.  Verfes  22, 
23,  24.  "  Look. unto  nie  and  be  ye  faved,  ail  the 
ends  of  the  earth  ;.  for  I  am  God,  and  there  i3 
none  elfe.  I  have  f^vorn  by  myfelf,  the  word  is- 
gone  out  of  my  mouth  in  righteoufnefs,  and  fhali 
not  return,  that  unto  me  every  knee  fhall  bow^. 
every  tongue  (hail  fwcarv  Surely  Jhall  he  fay  cf  me^ 
in  the  Lord  is  all  righteoiifnefs  and  Jireiigih  r  even  to- 
him  fliall  men  come ;  and.^  all  that  are  incenfed 
againft  him  fhall  be  afliamed.''  If  this  oath  of 
Jehovah  be  ever  fulfilled,  univerfal  fubmiffion  tO' 
God  and  his  righteoufnefs  muft  be  the  confe- 
quence.  In  the  Lord  Ihall  all  the  feed  of  Ifrael  be* 
jullified,  and  fliall  glory.  Let  us  fee  the  ground 
of  this  juftification.  Notice,  this  juftification  is  in 
the  Lord.  See  Rom.  iv.  25.  "  Who  was  deliver- 
ed for  our  offences,  and  was  raifed  again  for  our. 
juftification.  v.  18.  "Therefore,  as  by  the  oflence 
of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condem- 
nation J  eva:i  fo  by  the  righteoufnefs  of  one  ti>e 


Notes  on  ihe  Farahles.  17-5 

free  gift  came  upori  all  men  unto  juflification  of: 
life/*  St.  Paul  not  only  notices  the  darknefs  and 
blindnefs  of  the  houfe  of  Ifrael,  in  his  1  ith  chapter 
to  the  Rom  ins,  in  a  very  ample  manner,  but  is 
careful  to  dirccl  a  particular  and  mod  luminous 
argument  to  {how  that  thofe  blinded  Jews  would 
at  laft  obtain  falvation.  Thus  he  argues  :  "  I  fay 
then,  have  they  Humbled  that  they  fhould  falf^ 
God  forbid  :  but  rather  throuc^h  their  fall  falv'a- 
tion  is  come  unto  the  gentiles,  for  to  provoke  them 
to  jealoufy.  Now,  if  die  fall  of  them  be  the  riches 
of  the  world,  and  the.  diminifliing  of  them  the 
riches  of  tlie  gentiles  ;  how  much  more  their  ful- 
ncfs  ?  For  if  the  calling  away  of  them  be  the  rc- 
c.)!iciling  of  the  world,  what  fliall  the  receiving  of 
th^m  be  but  life  from  the  dead  ?  For  if  the  firft- 
fralt  be  holy,  the  lump  is  alfo  holy  j  and  if  the 
root  be  holy,  fo  are  the  branches.  *For  if  thou 
wert  cut  out  of  the  olive-tree,  which  is  wild  by 
nature,  and  wert  graffed  contrary  to  nature  into  a 
good  olive-tree  ;  how  much  more  fliall  ihefe,, 
v»^hich  be  the  natural  branches,  be  graffed  into 
their  own  olive-tree  ?  For  I  would  not,  brethren, 
that  ye  fhould  be  ignorant  of  this  myftery,  (left  ye 
fiiould  be  wife  in  your  own  conceits)  that  blind- 
nefs in  part  is  happened  to  Ifrael,  until  the  fulnefs 
of  the  gentiles  be  come  in.  And  fo  all  Ifrael  JJjall 
befavjd  ;  as  it  is  written,  there  fhall  come  out  of 
Sion  the  deliverer,  and  fliall  turn  away  ungodli- 
nefs  from  Jacob.  For  this  is  my  covenant  unto 
them,  when  I  fliall  take  away  their  fins.  As  con- 
cerning the  gofpel,  they  are  enemies  for  your  fakes: 
but  as  touching  the  eleclion,  they  are  beloved  for 
the  father's  fakes.  For  the  gifts  and  calling  of 
God  are  without  repentance.  For  as  ye  in  times 
gafl  have  not  believed  God,  yet  have  now  obtained 


274  l^otes  on  the  Parables. 

mercy  through  their  unbelief ;  even  fo  have  thefe 
alio  now  not  believed,  that  through  your  mercf 
they  alio  may  obtain  mercy.  For  God  hath  con- 
eluded  them  all  in  unbelief,  that  he  might  have 
mercy  upon  all/'  Thefe  blinded,  fallen,  broken 
off  and  diminiflied  Jews,  are  thofe  on  whom  Jefus 
pronounced>the  damnation  of  hell,  they  are  thofe 
on  whom  the  law  pronounced  all  its  curfes  ;  buE 
they  are  thofe  likewife,  the  receiving  of  whom 
fhall  be  life  from  the  dead  ;  they  are  thofe  alfo 
who  Oiall  be  juftified  in  the  Lord  >  and  in  him 
fliall  they  glory. 

Whoever  can  duly  read  and  compare  the  fore- 
going  fcriptures,  and  yet  not  acknowledge  their 
force  to  fupport  the  hope  for  which  we  are  feek- 
ing,  muf>,  it  is  conceived,  be  influenced  by  fome- 
thing  worfe  than  mere  blindnefs,  and  be  totally 
oppofed  in  their  hearts  and  affections  to  the  glo- 
rious truth  v/hich  thefe  fcriptures  fo  evidently 
prove.  See  Ezek.  xvi.  59.  "  For  thus  faith'  th^ 
Lord  God,  I  will  even  deal  with  thee  as  thou  haft 
done,  which  haft  defpifed  the  oath  in  breaking  the 
covenant.'*  Here  let  the  query  be  carefully  han^ 
died.  Had  Jerufalem  defpifed  an  oath,  and  brok- 
en a  covenant?  Yes.  What  covenant?  That 
-which  God  made  with  their  fathers.  What  had 
they  done  ?  They  made  and  worfliipped  images. 
With  what  fervice  did  they  ferve  thofe  images  ? 
God's  complaint  againft  them  is  as  follov/s  :  "Thou 
tookeft  thy  broidered  garments  and  covereft  them  : 
(the  images)  and  thou  haft  fet  mine  oil  and  mine 
incenfe  before  them.  My  meat  alfo  which  I  gave 
thee,  fine  flour,  and  oil,  and  honey,  wherewith  I 
fed  thee,  thou  haft  even  fet  it  before  them  for  a 
fweet  favor.  Moreover,  thou  haft  taken  thy 
Ibns.  and  thy  daughters,  whom   thou  haft  born 


Fcfe.f  on  the  Farahks.  .175 

unto  me,  and  thefe  haft  thou  facrificed  unto^thcm 
to  be  devoured.'^  if  tiie  reader  ca^i  eudui  e  n.oie, 
let  him  read  the  wlu^le  oi  this  .i6th  i>x  I  zek^el, 
and  then  open  his  ears  to  the  tqliowiiig  extia^ 
mation  in  verfe  2^,  lile,  ii;Q€y  unto  /;■';  '  '■'  fhe 
Lord  God. 

If  God  deal  with  thofe  covenant  breakers  ac-? 
cordingly  as  they  have  dealt  vith  him,  v>  hat  will 
he  do?  notice  particularly — in  the  59rh  ve  fe  God 
fays,  as  above  quoted,  '*  1  will  even  deal  wi.h  thee 
as  thou  haft  done."  If  fo  will  he  ever  ilievv  ihem 
any  favor?  Read  vith  attention  the  vciy  r.cxt 
words,  as  follows  :  '•  Nevcrthelefs  I  will  remember 
iTiy  covenant  with'  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth, 
and  I  will  eftablifli  unto  thee  an  everlafting  cove- 
nant.  Then  thou  ftialt  remember  thy  ways,  and 
be  aihamed,  when  thou  fhalt  receive  thy  lifters, 
thine  elder  and  thy  younger:  and  1  will  give  them 
unto  thee  for  daughters,  but  mt  by  thy  covenant. 
And  I  will  eftablilli  my  covenant  vvith  thee.;  and 
thou  fhdt  know  that  1  am  the  Lord/*  Did  God 
know  that  he  could  puniih  that  covenant  breaking 
idolatrous  people  according  to  what  they  had  done, 
,and  after i.vards  eftablifh  aiiother  and  an  everlafting 
•covenant  wiiJi  them  ?  If  lo,  the  commonly  receiv- 
.€d  opinion  that  that  rebellious  people  deferve  and 
will  pod  ively  endure  never  ending  torment  in  a 
future  ftate,  is  -not  true.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
hope,  for  which  we  are  feeking,  receives  ftrength 
and  fupport  from  the  force  and  evidence  of  the 
above  fcriptures  ;  for  if  a  people  who  had  broken 
a  folenvn  covenant  of  their  God  and  gone  from 
his  worfliip  ard  bowc<i  down  to  images  of  their 
own  make,  and  offered  as  facriCces  their  own  ofF- 
fpring,  cou.d  be  jmnifhed  according  to  what  they 
had  done,  and  yei  rcctivo  from  God  the  mercies 


^y6  Notes  on  the  Parables. 

of  another  and  an  everlafting  covenant,  we  have 
rcafcn,  and  that  iufficierit,  to  belie\e  and  hope  in 
the  lalvation  of  that  people  vvh.ich  the  parable  in 
the  laft  paragraph  ot  tie  i6th  of  I.uke  leprefents.  If 
it  be  iuggeiled  that  thofe  of  whom  Fzckiel  fpake 
were  not  io  great  Timers  as  fon:e  other  people,  it 
may  be  well  to  look  and  fee  what  he  fays  on  this 
fubjc^l.  ^ee  vcrfe  48.  **  As  I  live,  faith  the 
Lord,  Sodom  thy  fifler  hath  not  done,  fhe  nor  her 
daughters,  as  thou  haft  done,  thou  and  thy 
daughters."  \trk  51.  "  -Neither  hath  Samaria 
committed  half  oi  thy  fins  ;  but  thou  haft  multipli- 
ed thine  abominations-more  than  they."  If  wc 
allow  that  God  fpake  thefe  wor.da  by  the  prophet, 
we  mufl  of  courle  fuppofe  that  he  knew  nothing, 
at  that  time,  of  the  doclrine  of  the  wfinity  of  fin ^ 
which  our  doclors  now  hold  as  ah  eflential  article 
of  the  chriflian  faith  !  For  if  Sodom  and  Sam>aria 
had  not  comimiitted  ha f  the  abominations  that  Jeru- 
falem  had,  and  yet  had  finned  to  an  infinite  degree, 
it  is  very  plain  that  Jerufalem  had  finned  to  the 
amount  of  more  than  two  infinities  ! 

Perhaps  however,  we  ought  here  to  afk  pardon 
of  the  do(5lors  for  conp;nirg  their  creed  with 
the  v^'ord  of  God,  with  v,hich  it  has  fo  little  con- 
nexion !  In  tliC  60th  k  6iitverfe  as  has  been  quest- 
ed, God  proniiies  to  give  iSodom  and  Samaria  to 
thai  people  ^^■h(^i<J  fins  had  been  grearer  than  either 
of  thofe  had  coinniilted,  for  daughters,  and  to 
cflablifh  wiih  them  an  eveilafllng  covenant.  Our 
antichrifiian  divines  have  btcn  lo  determined  to 
maintain  the  dodrine  of  dndlef:',  unmerciful  pun- 
iihm.ent,  that  they  have  ventured  to  fay  that  no- 
thing in  the  16th  of  fzekicL  in  tlie  leafl  favors 
the  opinion  that  there  is  niercy  either  for  Jerufa- 
lem, Samaria  and  her  daughters,  or  Scdom  and  her 


Notes  on  the  Parables.  277 

daughters !  while  the  Holy  Ghoft  on  the  other 
hand  teftifies  that  Samaria  and  Sodom  fhall  be  giv- 
en  to  Jerufalem  for  daughters,  and  that  God  will 
cftablifh  with  her  an  everlafting  covenant,  and 
that  flie  fhall  know  the  Lord. 

On  this  fubjecl  it  is  juft  to  obferve,  if  we  be- 
lieve the  Holy  Ghoft,  we  muft  difbelieve  the  doc- 
trine and  arguments  of  our  divines  >  if  we  dif- 
believe their  do6lrines  and  arguments,  we  muft  ad- 
mit, however  hard  it  may  feeni,  that  their  doc- 
trine is  the  doctrine  of  antichrifl,  and  their  argu- 
ments are  directed  againft  the  truth  as  it  in  Jefus. 

Having  given  this  fubjecl  as  ample  fupport  as 
the  limits  of  the  prefent  work  will  admit,  and 
humbly  conceiving  that  this  fupport  will  be  con- 
ceived as  fufficient  to  fubftantiate  the  truth  to 
which  the  arguments  have  been  directed,  it  is  ne- 
cellary  to  conclude  thefe  illuftrations,  by  obferving 

I  ft.  That  on  fuch  an  examination  of  the  fcrip- 
tures  as  the  foregoing  notes  and  illuftrations  have 
led  to,  I  am  under  the  necellity  of  faying,  that  the 
light  of  divine  revelation  appears  more  evident  in 
the  reftoration  of  all  mankind,  from  fm  to  holinefs, 
from  death  to  life,  from  mifery  to  happinefs,  and 
from  mortality  to  immortality  through  the  media- 
tion of  Jefus  Chrift  our  Lord,  than  it  formerly 
did,  though  I  was  fatisfied  before  that  this  truth 
was  embraced  in  the  fcriptures. 

2d.  That  the  view  taken,  in  this  workj  of  the 
divine  dealings  of  God  with  mankind,  in  fo  dif- 
pofing  of  rewards  and  punifhments  as  to  give  eve- 
ry fuitablc  encouragement  to  moral  virtue  and  rc  = 
liglous  piety,  and  to  faithfu-ily  and  fuccefsfully  cor- 
recl  the  wickednefs  of"  his  alienated  offspring,  com- 
ports  incomparably  better  with  thcfpirit  of  Clirifi' 
aad  ail  the  graces  of  the  goipel  than  the  fe'ntinicixN 


278  Uotes  on  the  Parables. 

does,  which  reprefents  divine  juftice  to  be  unmer- 
ciful in  the  execution  of  puniftiment.  1 

3d.  That  having  been  obliged,  by  the  limits  dc-     j 
figned  to  this  work,  to  pafs  by  fo  many  arguments 
in:  favor  of  truth,  which  feem  neceffary  for  the  af- 
fiftancc  of  the  church  in  her  journey  from  the  wil- 
dernefs,  I  have  been  brought  to  conceive  it  to  be 
a  duty  which  I  owe  to  the  caufc  in  which  I  am  en- 
gaged, and  to  which  I  wifh  to  be  devoted,  to  prc- 
fent  to  the  public  a  more  extenlivc  work,  which 
may  embrace  the  fyftem  of  divine  revelation  in  a 
greater  variety  of  fubjcds,  expofe  errors  in  larger 
portraits,  give  a  general  view  of  the  travel  of  the 
human  mind  in  its  progrefs  in  religion,  and  pre- 
fent  fuitablc  encouragements  to  feek  after  thofe- 
things  which  belong  to  the  ever  bleffed  kingdonx :. 
of  righteoufnefs  and  peace.     This  work,  fhould  it 
pleafe  God  to  continue  me  in  health  for  a  fufficient  - 
time,  1  hope  to  be  fucceeded  in,,  to.  the  honpr  of-- 
his  name  and  to  the  comfort  of  hiachildrcn.    And 

4th.  1  cannot  clofe  thcfe  obfervations  without 
cxpreiBng  my  gratitude  to  the  Divine  Being,  for 
continuing  me  in  life  and, health,  and  granting  mc 
the  alliftancc  by  which  this  work  is,  though  im- 
perfcdly,  completed. 


FINIS. 


Mr.  Ballou'3  Works. . 

THE  following  works  of  the  Rev.  Hofea  Ballon j. 
Paftor  of  the  Univerialift  Church  and  Society 
in  Portfmouth,  may  be  had,  wholefale  and  retail,  at 
the  Book-ftore  of  CHARLES  PEIRCE,  No.  5, 
Daniel-ftreet,  Portfmouth,  N.  H. 

A  Treatife  on  the  Atonement,  in 

which  the  Finite  Nature  of  Sin  is  argued  ;  its  caufes  and  con- 
fequences  as  fuch  ;  the  neceflity  and  aature  of  Atonement ; 
and  its  glorious  confequences  in  the  Final  Reconciliation  of  all 
wen  to  holinefs  and  happincfs. — Price  i  dollar^ 

Notes  &  lUuftrations  on  the  Parables. 

Price   I  dollar, 

A  Candid  Review  of  a   Pamphlet 

entitled  a  Candid    Reply  ;  the  whole  being  a  Do^rinal  Con- 
troYerfy  between  the  Hopkintonian  and  the  Univerfalift.   Pria .. 
75  cents. 

The  Child's  Scriptural  Catechifm. 

Price  124  cents  Jingh, 

Hymns  compofed  by  different  au- 
thors, at  the  requeft  of  the  General  Convention  of 
Univerfalifts,  of  the  New-England  States  and 
others  ;  adapted  to  public  and  private  devotion.-— 

Price  75  cents. 

May  alfo  he  had  at  C,  Peirce^s  Book/lore^ 

A  Series   of    Letters   between    Dr. 

Buckminfter,  Rev.  Jofeph  Walton,  and  the  Rev. 
Hofea  Ballou  ;  all  Minifters  of  Portfmouth,  differ- 
ing more  or  lefs  in  Religious  Sentiments. — Prict^ 
50  cents ^  bound  and  lettered, 

Cj"  If  a  number  fubfcribe,  or  join  in  a  company, 
and  buy  ten  of  any  of  the  above  books,  the  elev- 
enth will  be  given  gratis. 


Winchefter's  Le6lures  on  the  Pro- 
phecies, in  2  vols.— Pr/V(?  25/6. 

Winchefter's  Univerfal  Reftoration, 

exhibited  in  four  dialogues. — Price  5/3  each, 

Petitpierre  on  Divine  Goodnefs,  re- 
lative to  the  Government  of  moral  agents. — Prke 
V  dollar. 

Dr.  Mofheim's  Ecclefiaftical  Hiftory,  in  6  vols. 

Dr.  Milner's  Hiftory  of  the  Church  of  ChrHl 
from  the  firft  centmy,  5  vols.  ^ 

Dr.  Campbell's  Four  Gofpels,  tranflated  from 
the  Greek,  with  Preliminary  Differtations  and  Notes  Critical 
and  Explanatory,  in  4  vols. 

Dr.  Campbell'B  Lcdures  on  Syftematic  Theolgy 

Vid  pulpit  Eloquence,  i  vol. 

Dr.  Macknight's  new  literal  tranflation  from  the 
Original  Greek,  of  all  the  Apoftolic  Epiftles  ;  with  a  Com- 
mentary and  Notes,  &c.  in  6  vols. 

Dr.  Faber  on  the  Prophecies,  i  vol.  octavo. 

Dr.  Jamiefon's  ufe  of  Sacred  Hiftory  in  illiiftrat- 
ing  and  Confirming  the  Great  Doflrines  of  Revelation,    i  vol. 

Butterworth's,  Cruden's,  Taylor'Sj  and  Brown^s 

Concordances  to  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Brown's  and  Buck's  Theological  Di(^l:ionariGS« 

3  vols.  each. 

Orton's  Expofition  of  the  Old,  aa^  Doddrige 
of  the  New-Teftament.     6  vols.  each. 

BIBLES  of  ajoioft  every  defcrip- 

tion,  from  a  fmall  School  Bible  of  6s  to  a  large 
folio  of  18  dollars. 

6=3*PubIic  and  Piivate  Libraries  fup-   jj 

plied  on  reafonable  terms,  by  C.  PEIRCE. 
Pjortsfnouth^  New- Ha?ni>Mre3 1^12. 


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